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Volume 80 Edition 29 ©SS 2021 THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas
stripes.com
FACES
Zack Snyder mixessocial commentaryinto zombie movie Page 18
MILITARY
NATO warns ofRussia’s behaviortoward UkrainePage 3
NHL
Rookies makingearly impact forteams in playoffsPage 24
Illinois Reserve unit found to have mishandled assault reports ›› Page 3
WASHINGTON — The United
States’ top health official called
Tuesday for a swift follow-up in-
vestigation into the coronavirus’
origins amid renewed questions
about whether the virus jumped
from an animal host into humans
in a naturally occurring event or
escaped from a lab in Wuhan, Chi-
na.
Health and Human Services
Secretary Xavier Becerra told an
annual ministe-
rial meeting of
the World
Health Organi-
zation that inter-
national experts
should be given
“the independ-
ence to fully as-
sess the source
of the virus and the early days of
the outbreak.”
Becerra’s remarks, which were
prerecorded, signaled that the Bi-
den administration would contin-
ue to press the WHO to expand its
investigation to determine the vi-
rus’s origins.
Additionally, Biden on Wednes-
day asked the intelligence com-
munity to redouble its efforts to
determine the virus’ origin. In a
statement, Biden said he has
asked for a report within 90 days
and hopes the intelligence com-
munity “will collect and analyze
information that could bring us
closer to a definitive conclusion.”
In his statement, Biden said a
report he received last month said
the intelligence community has
“coalesced around two likely sce-
narios” but has not reached a de-
finitive conclusion about whether
the virus emerged from human
Follow-upprobe intopandemic’sorigins sought
The Washington Post
Becerra
SEE PROBE ON PAGE 6
Sailors who have been fully vac-
cinated against COVID-19 can
now make some port calls, often
go mask-free and deploy without
quarantining beforehand, the Na-
vy has announced.
“With more than a year operat-
ing in the COVID environment,
we have gained significant exper-
tise in mitigating and preventing
the spread of COVID-19,” Vice
Adm. Phillip Sawyer, deputy chief
of naval operations for operations,
plans and strategy, said in a state-
ment. “Now with vaccines and
CDC scientific data, we are able to
relax many of the procedures we
put in place and still provide for
the health protection of the force.”
The rules apply to personnel on
ships, submarines and aircraft,
Sawyer wrote in a servicewide
message issued Monday. Fully
vaccinated personnel will be al-
lowed port calls in designated
“safe haven” ports, including in
Guam, Bahrain, Japan and Spain,
and use on-base gyms, commis-
saries and other services.
They can also go mask-free and
stop social distancing in most sit-
uations. Masks will still be re-
quired for medical and dental care
providers when treating patients,
on public transportation and for
MOLLY CRAWFORD/U.S. Navy
Sailors assigned to Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal return to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, in April.
Navy relaxes COVID-19 rulesFully vaccinated sailors can now make some port calls and often go mask-free
BY NANCY MONTGOMERY
Stars and Stripes RELATED
US bases in Japanupdate restrictionsamid surge in virusPage 5
VIRUS OUTBREAK
SEE RULES ON PAGE 6
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
BRUSSELS — The European
Union took on vaccine producer
AstraZeneca in a Brussels court on
Wednesday with the urgent de-
mand that the company needs to
make an immediate delivery of CO-
VID-19 shots the bloc insists were
already due.
AstraZeneca’s contract signed
with the European Commission,
the EU’s executive arm, on behalf
of member states foresaw an initial
300 million doses for distribution
among all 27 countries, with an op-
tion for a further 100 million. The
doses were expected to be deliver-
ed throughout 2021. But only 30
million were sent during the first
quarter.
Deliveries have increased slight-
ly since then, but according to the
European Commission, the compa-
ny is set to provide only 70 million
doses in the second quarter. It had
promised 180 million.
EU lawyer Rafael Jafferali told
the court that the company now ex-
pects to deliver the total number of
doses by the end of December, but
he added that “with a six-month de-
lay, it’s obviously a failure.”
His main argument is that Astra-
Zeneca should have used produc-
tion sites in the bloc and the United
Kingdomfor EU supplies as part of
a“best reasonable effort” clause in
the contract.
While the bloc insists AstraZene-
ca has breached its contractual
obligations, the company says it
has fully complied with the agree-
ment, arguing that vaccines are dif-
ficult to manufacture and it made
its best effort to deliver on time.
Bahrain93/86
Baghdad104/73
Doha104/84
Kuwait City103/83
Riyadh105/72
Kandahar100/63
Kabul83/53
Djibouti92/82
THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
62/42
Ramstein57/46
Stuttgart60/46
Lajes,Azores62/60
Rota71/60
Morón83/60 Sigonella
80/57
Naples71/57
Aviano/Vicenza65/51
Pápa66/47
Souda Bay72/68
Brussels61/46
Zagan59/50
DrawskoPomorskie
55/46
THURSDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa59/55
Guam84/82
Tokyo72/54
Okinawa82/79
Sasebo71/63
Iwakuni67/62
Seoul64/52
Osan66/53
Busan66/59
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
TODAYIN STRIPES
American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 18Opinion ........................ 14Sports .................... 19-24
BUSINESS/WEATHER
Military rates
Euro costs (May 27) $1.19Dollar buys (May 27) 0.7966British pound (May 27) $1.38Japanese yen (May 27) 106.00South Korean won (May 27) 1,092.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) .3770Britain (Pound) 1.4129Canada (Dollar) 1.2110China (Yuan) 6.3930Denmark (Krone) 6.0807Egypt (Pound) 15.6753Euro .8177Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7624Hungary (Forint) 286.20Israel (Shekel) 3.2473Japan (Yen) 108.94Kuwait (Dinar) .3006
Norway (Krone) 8.3265
Philippines (Peso) 48.10Poland (Zloty) 3.68Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7503Singapore (Dollar) 1.3244
So. Korea (Won) 1,117.94Switzerland (Franc) .8962Thailand (Baht) 31.25Turkey (New Lira) �8.4432
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollarstopound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate �0.093month bill 0.0230year bond 2.26
EXCHANGE RATESEU sues AstraZeneca over vaccine deliveries Associated Press
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
NATO has warned that Russia is
continuing with a “pattern of ag-
gressive behavior” toward Ukraine
by stationing large forces near
their border and restricting navi-
gation in the Black Sea.
Earlier this year, Russia de-
ployed more than 100,000 troops to
the border region, raising concerns
in the West that Moscow intended
to invade its neighbor with whom it
has been at odds since the seizure
in 2014 of Ukraine’s Crimean Pen-
insula.
“While Russia has pulled back
some troops, tens of thousands re-
main in and around Ukraine, as
well as significant amounts of
weapons,” NATO Secretary-Gen-
eral Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday
during a visit to the alliance’s Brus-
sels headquarters by Estonian
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
Moscow continues to back east-
ern Ukrainian separatists in a war
that the United Nations estimates
has claimed thousands of lives.
In April, Moscow announced
that it was pulling back its forces
from the Ukrainian border, claim-
ing they had been conducting rou-
tine exercises. But it remains un-
clear how many troops and gear
were left behind during the with-
drawal.
Stoltenberg said Russia contin-
ues to restrict navigation in the
Black Sea, including near the
Kerch Strait, which has been a
flashpoint between Russian and
Ukrainian warships in recent
years.
Moscow announced last month it
will block all foreign naval vessels
from transiting the strait until Oc-
tober, saying it would be conduct-
ing land and sea exercises in the ar-
ea.
The decision was immediately
denounced by Washington and Ky-
iv. Ukraine described it as an esca-
lation of Russia’s efforts to destabil-
ize the nation because it would pre-
vent access to its ports in the Sea of
Azov, which is connected to the
Black Sea through the Kerch Strait.
Stoltenberg said NATO would
continue to support its partners in
the region, saying the Russian
moves were “part of a pattern of ag-
gressive actions, which raise seri-
ous concerns.”
The two leaders also sharply crit-
icized the detention Sunday of an
opposition journalist from Belarus
who was pulled off a Ryanair jet
that was diverted to Minsk, in what
Western leaders have called a case
of state-sponsored hijacking.
NATO warns of Russia’s Ukraine behaviorStars and Stripes
MIKE ABRAMS/Russian defense ministry
Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet train during an exercise in thesea last month.
gation makes clear that the Army is work-
ing to improve how it handles allegations of
sexual assault, but more must be done. In
Congress, we will continue to support pro-
grams that improve the military justice sys-
tem, increase training for command lead-
ers, and offer support for sexual assault and
harassment survivors. Service members
cannot be silenced or abandoned for seek-
ing justice and accountability. We look for-
ward to continuing to work with the Depart-
ment of Defense on this important issue,”
Durbin and Duckworth said in a prepared
statement.
The Reserve investigation focused main-
ly on the processes of the SHARP program
to find any gaps in reporting or information,
Mosser said. A redacted version of the 268-
page report was released publicly Tuesday.
“The investigation revealed numerous
shortfalls and found various individuals
and units improperly handled reports of
sexual assault and harassment,” Mosser
said.
A general officer and a dozen soldiers in
an Illinois-based Reserve unit face disci-
plinary action for mishandling sexual ha-
rassment and sexual assault reports while
not properly implementing a service pro-
gram to respond to such incidents, accord-
ing to an Army investigation released Tues-
day.
“We must ensure every member of the
Army Reserve team is valued and treated
with dignity and respect at all times,” said
Maj. Gen. Greg Mosser, deputy command-
er of the Army Reserve Command. “We’re
committed to eradicating these destructive
actions from our ranks as we work together
and move forward in a unified effort.”
In the wake of the investigation, the Army
Reserve Command has begun training and
educating its 190,000 soldiers and 11,000 ci-
vilian employees on proper procedures and
bystander intervention in cases of sexual
harassment and sexual assault, Mosser
said.
The 416th Theater Engineer Command,
headquartered in Durian, Ill., came under
scrutiny about 15 months ago when Amy
Braley Franck, a civilian hired as a victim
advocate, released documents to The Asso-
ciated Press that revealed at least two sex-
ual assault complaints were not sent to
criminal investigators, but were instead
dealt with internally — a violation of mili-
tary policy and federal law. The news re-
port outlined other allegations that the unit
was not following requirements for manag-
ing sex-crime cases nor was it properly im-
plementing the Army’s Sexual Harass-
ment/Assault Response and Prevention
Program, known commonly as SHARP.
Maj. Gen. Miyako N. Schanely, the unit’s
former commander, failed to properly im-
plement the SHARP program and received
a general officer memorandum of repri-
mand from Gen. Joseph M. Martin, the Ar-
my vice chief of staff. She was previously
suspended from command over the issue,
the Army said.
Martin also took administrative action
against two other senior leaders for their
performance failures, though the Army did
not reveal their rank or position in the ser-
vice.
Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels, commander of
Army Reserve Command, took administra-
tive action against 12 other officers, non-
commissioned officers, and Army civilians
based on the investigation. Three additional
civilian actions are still pending.
Mosser declined to name the ranks or po-
sitions of the 12 soldiers facing discipline or
the actions for which they were being held
responsible. Seven of the disciplined sol-
diers will receive general officer memoran-
dums of reprimand and the remaining five
will receive adverse counseling statements,
he said.
Following the AP’s reporting last year, Il-
linois Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick
Durbin, both Democrats, called on the Ar-
my to conduct the administration investiga-
tion, known as a 15-6. In a joint statement,
they said the pervasive problems of the unit
are “unacceptable” within the military.
“The Army Reserve’s completed investi-
Despite this finding, he said victims “re-
ceived all the support and care that they
needed in terms of medical support, legal
support [and] counseling support.”
“When I say that the victims themselves
were taken care of, it had to do with all those
other support needs outside of the process
of investigating the complaint,” Mosser
said. Those needs include emotional and
physical support.
The investigation also found the unit had
challenges in resourcing and properly com-
plying with SHARP program regulatory re-
quirements for several years, had failed to
monitor annual training requirements, had
multiple SHARP program staffing gaps,
and lacked effective procedures to hire cre-
dentialed, trained civilian program person-
nel, Mosser said.
However, Braley Franck, who first spoke
to the AP and has been on paid administra-
tive leave since November 2019, said she
does not believe it’s accurate to say that all
victims have received proper care. Some
are still awaiting financial reimbursements
such as medical pay or reimbursement for
traveling to case proceedings.
“I just don’t know what kind of shenani-
gans they’re trying to pull,” she said.
Spc. Sara Joachimstaler, a member of the
416th who reported being assaulted by a
sergeant, said the idea that she and other
victims were properly taken care of down-
plays her actual experience.
“They don’t take care of their victims at
all,” she said.
After Braley Franck was suspended, Joa-
chimstaler said she did not have a victim ad-
vocate until she was quoted saying so in a
news report. Then the newly appointed vic-
tim advocate told her that the case would be
dismissed if the soldier didn’t respond to
communication.
With her enlistment ending, the 25-year-
old said she does not think she will re-enlist.
“It’s degrading to your life,” Joachimstal-
er said. “Instead of doing your job, you’ve
got to work to defend yourself. You’ve got to
work not to get caught in someone’s lie.”
Ill. Reserve unit found to have mishandled assault reportsBY ROSE L. THAYER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @Rose_Lori
CHARLES REX ARBOGAST/AP
Amy Braley Franck, a civilian victim advocate with the 416th Theater EngineerCommand, poses for a portrait with more than 800 pages from several sexual abusereports at her home in Oswego, Ill., in January 2020.
MILITARY
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
Frank Kendall, President Joe
Biden’s nominee for Air Force
secretary, told senators on Tues-
day that he was driven to return to
the Defense Department by con-
cerns over China’s improving bat-
tlefield technology.
Kendall, who served as the Pen-
tagon’s top weapons buyer under
former President Barack Obama,
listed ensuring the Air Force and
Space Force retained military ad-
vantage over any potential foe
among his top priorities, if con-
firmed. He recalled a “highly
classified” 2010 Pentagon meet-
ing in which he first learned of
China’s push to improve its mil-
itary capabilities in an eye-open-
ing effort “to defeat the ability of
the United States to project power
near China.”
“We have made progress
against these threats, and our ad-
versaries should never doubt the
United States, but there is still
much to be done,” Kendall told
the Senate Armed Services Com-
mittee. “My hope is that, if con-
firmed, I will be able to lead the
Department of the Air Force in
organizing, training and equip-
ping our nation’s aerospace forces
so that the United States can con-
tinue to deter, and if necessary,
fight and win against all adversar-
ies.”
Kendall, 72, testified in support
of his nomination before the Sen-
ate committee alongside Heidi
Shyu, Biden’s nominee for under-
secretary of defense for research
and engineering, and Susanna
Blume, the president’s nominee
for director for the Pentagon’s
Cost Assessment and Program
Evaluation Office. Like Kendall,
Shyu and Blume served in high-
level Pentagon positions during
Obama’s administration.
Senators on Tuesday appeared
poised to confirm all three, with
several praising their selections
by the Biden administration and
committing to support their nomi-
nations, including committee
chairman Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
“Previously, you [each have]
demonstrated the thoughtfulness,
and the integrity, and the commit-
ment that is essential to being a
part of the Department of De-
fense,” Reed said. “I look forward
to your confirmations.”
The committee also voted Tues-
day to advance Biden’s nominee
for Army secretary, Christine
Wormuth, to the full Senate for a
confirmation vote. If confirmed,
she would be the first woman to
serve as the Army’s top civilian.
Like Kendall, Wormuth in a
Senate Armed Services Commit-
tee hearing earlier this month list-
ed competition with power rivals
China and Russia and the Penta-
gon’s ongoing modernization ef-
forts among her top priorities.
Wormuth is also a veteran of the
Obama administration, serving
previously as the Pentagon’s civil-
ian policy chief among other De-
fense Department and National
Security Council jobs.
If confirmed, she would replace
acting Army Secretary John
Whitley, who has held that role
since Biden’s Jan. 20 inaugura-
tion. Kendall, if confirmed, would
become the 26th Air Force secre-
tary and replace acting Air Force
Secretary John P. Roth, who also
began that role Jan. 20.
Beyond competition with China
and Russia, Kendall said his other
top priority would be to take care
of his personnel, which includes
some 697,000 Air Force and Space
Force troops and civilian employ-
ees. He committed to working
with senators to improve on-post
housing and other quality-of-life
issues, including looking into
command climates throughout
the service.
He also endorsed the need for
change to the military’s approach
to solving its longstanding prob-
lems with high rates of sexual as-
sault and harassment in its ranks.
Kendall called efforts spearhead-
ed by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-
N.Y., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, to
remove military commanders
from the sexual assault prosecu-
tion process potentially “very
beneficial in this area.”
“Change is necessary,” Kendall
told Gillibrand. “Hopefully we
can move forward.”
Kendall also committed to
pushing back against across-the-
board cuts to defense spending,
which some liberal Democrats
have pressed Biden to propose.
Budget cuts have the potential to
derail a number of critical Air
Force modernization programs,
including the development of its
new nuclear bomber, the B-21
Raider. It could also slow the
fielding of advanced F-35 Joint
Strike Fighters, which despite
well-documented and expensive
problems, remains the “best tacti-
cal aircraft of its type in the world
and will be so for quite some
time,” Kendall said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska,
said he was worried the Biden
White House would not follow the
2018 advice of a congressionally
mandated panel, the National De-
fense Strategy Commission,
which recommended the Penta-
gon’s budget increase 3% to 5%
annually to compete with China
and Russia, as the 2018 National
Defense Strategy prioritized.
“I can commit to you to fight for
the budget that’s necessary to ful-
fill the National Defense Strategy,
whatever that [number] may be,”
Kendall said. “So, if it’s 5% or it’s
10%, I will try to get the money
that is needed by the Department
of the Air Force, if I’m confirmed,
so that the Air Force can support
combatant commanders however
they need to carry out that strate-
gy.”
USAF secretary pick driven by China concernsBY COREY DICKSTEIN
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CDicksteinDC
“Our adversaries shouldnever doubt the UnitedStates, but there is stillmuch to be done.”
Frank Kendall
Air Force secretary nominee
WASHINGTON — Sen. Jon Tester, D-
Mont., unveiled a massive plan Tuesday
to extend disability benefits to veterans
of all eras who suffer the effects of toxic
exposure, with a partic-
ular focus on veterans
who served in overseas
conflicts since 1990.
The legislation, titled
the Comprehensive and
Overdue Support for
Troops of War Act of
2021, would create a fast
track to Department of
Veterans Affairs bene-
fits for veterans who served overseas
during the past 31 years and developed a
respiratory illness or cancer. It would au-
tomatically grant eligibility for VA health
care to about 3.5 million veterans of the
Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In addition, it
would reform the VA’s current process of
handling claims of toxic exposure.
The effort includes older veterans, too.
The bill calls for presumptive benefits
for Vietnam War veterans who have de-
veloped hypertension because of expo-
sure to chemical herbicides, as well as
veterans who served in Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia, Guam or American Samoa
during certain periods of the 1960s and
1970s and were potentially exposed to
herbicides.
“Decade after decade, our service
members have returned home from war
only to be met with a piecemeal process
as they try to cobble together health care
and disability benefits they’ve earned,”
Tester said on a phone call with report-
ers. “I’m proud to unveil my comprehen-
sive and overdue support.”
Tester is anticipating pushback on the
bill because of its cost, which remains un-
known but is likely significant. The Con-
gressional Budget Office, which provides
cost and economic information to Con-
gress, has not yet shared its cost estimate
for the legislation.
“I don’t know what this costs,” Tester
said. “But I’m going to tell you how I ap-
proach this: We have to make this thing
work financially. … We have an all-vol-
unteer military. If we expect people to
step up, we have to make sure we hold up
our end of the deal and ensure promises
are kept.”
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Commit-
tee, which Tester leads, was considering
Wednesday whether to advance the legis-
lation to the Senate floor for a vote.
Also Wednesday, the House Veterans’
Affairs Committee was planning to un-
veil its own bill directed at veterans suf-
fering from toxic exposure. The House
version, the Honoring our Promise to Ad-
dress Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021,
will be introduced during a ceremony
outside the Capitol building.
Comedian Jon Stewart is expected to
speak at the event. Stewart became a
fierce advocate for 9/11 responders who
developed illnesses from the toxic fumes
at the destroyed World Trade Center, and
he recently turned his attention to veter-
ans suffering from diseases caused by
exposure to burn pits and other toxic en-
vironments since the Gulf War.
The two bills are not identical, and
Tester said he’s willing to work with
House lawmakers to reconcile the differ-
ences. Lawmakers hope to pass a bill
through Congress by the end of the year.
“It’s a very high priority for me,” Test-
er said. “There are going to be times it’s
not going as fast as I want it to be. But I’ve
instructed my staff to push, push, push,
push, push, and they’re going to do it.”
Tester unveils huge plan for vets suffering from toxic exposureBY NIKKI WENTLING
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @nikkiwentling
Tester
A U.S. Army soldier shot to
death last week in South East Lake,
Ala., fired first, so no criminal
charges will be filed in his slaying,
authorities said.
Birmingham police Tuesday
said they presented the findings of
their investigation to the Jefferson
County District Attorney’s Office,
which deemed the fatal shooting of
Sgt. Tavarius Hampton, 25, justi-
fiable. Hampton was stationed at
Fort Campbell, Ky., but his family
lives in Birmingham.
The shooting happened May 17
in the 7800 block of Sixth Avenue
South. Officers arrived to find
Hampton critically injured and
asked for a rush on the medics.
Hampton was taken to the hospital
where he was later pronounced
dead.
Birmingham Police Sgt. Rod
Mauldin said the investigation
showed Hampton was seen leav-
ing a bag on the porch of a resi-
dence when he was approached by
the occupants of the home. Police
have not said what was in the bag.
“It is reported both men ap-
proached the subject and gunfire
was exchanged, fatally wounding
the subject,’' Mauldin said. “Both
suspects were detained and ques-
tioned by detectives.”
On the morning following
Hampton’s death, before author-
ities had released his identity, his
family had posted on Facebook
that he had been missing since
Sunday.
He was the father of two chil-
dren, ages 1 and 2.
Alabama officials rule shooting death of Army sergeant as justifiableBY CAROL ROBINSON
al.com
MILITARY
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
WASHINGTON — Health care
coverage for National Guard
members and reservists would be
expanded under a bill introduced
Tuesday, as calls to make benefits
more equitable for these service
members is gaining traction in
Congress.
The bill from Reps. Andy Kim,
D-N.J., and Trent Kelly, R-Miss.,
would allow all National Guard
members and reservists to sign up
for TRICARE Reserve Select, a
premium-based health care plan,
without additional fees or copays.
Now, only those who are called
to active-duty status for more than
30 days are eligible for coverage.
The Healthcare for Our Troops
Act aims to expand access to affor-
dable health care for about
130,000 members, or 16% of the
Guard and Reserve, who lack pri-
vate health insurance.
Kelly served as a combat engi-
neer in the Mississippi Army Na-
tional Guard for 35 years before
his promotion to major general in
December.
The congressman said he has
been pushing for four years to
bring benefits and pay allowances
for Guard members more in line
with active-duty troops.
“It’s just not fair to ask them to
put their lives on the line and not
have the same coverage and same
benefits as their active counter-
parts,” Kelly said.
Kim said affordable care would
be one small way to repay service
members who kept him safe dur-
ing his time in Afghanistan where
he worked as a strategic adviser
before being elected to Congress.
Last year, National Guard sol-
diers and airmen logged more
than 10.9 million days of service to
support missions in response to
the coronavirus pandemic, ex-
treme weather events, and civil
protests and riots.
It was more than four times as
many days as Guard troops served
in 2019, according to recent com-
ments from Gen. Daniel Hokan-
son, the chief of the National
Guard Bureau.
Amid a year of unprecedented
levels of support from Guard
members, Hokanson has been vo-
cal on Capitol Hill about support
for expanded health care cover-
age for troops.
Lawmakers have also raised
alarm bells over gaps in medical
eligibility for service members
who go on-and-off duty orders in
less than a month.
Greater access to mental health
care or counseling for members
who do not have health insurance
could also decrease the number of
suicides in the National Guard, the
general said.
The number of deaths by sui-
cide in the National Guard rose
from 90 in 2019 to 118 at the end of
2020, according to the Defense
Department.
Bill would expand access to health care for Guard, ReserveBY SARAH CAMMARATA
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @sarahjcamm
TOKYO — Japan’s latest coro-
navirus surge spurred U.S. mili-
tary bases to impose further trav-
el restrictions Wednesday as the
nation’s two largest metro areas
looked at extending their public
health emergencies.
Case numbers continued to fall
Wednesday in Tokyo and Osaka
prefectures, though Japan overall
recorded its highest one-day tally
of 4,176 new infections, according
to public broadcaster NHK.
The report said Tokyo and Osa-
ka are considering requests to the
national government that would
allow both prefectures to extend
emergency declarations that
were imposed April 12 and ex-
tended May 7. Six of Japan’s 47
prefectures were under a state of
emergency in April. That number
grew to 10 this month.
The U.S. military in Japan by 6
p.m. Wednesday had reported 10
new cases of COVID-19, the coro-
navirus respiratory disease, all at
Marine Corps bases on Okinawa.
Camp Foster has eight new pa-
tients and Camps Kinser and
Hansen each have one, according
to a Facebook post by Marine
Corps Installations Pacific.
Okinawa prefecture set another
one-day record for the third time
since Saturday and reported 302
new COVID-19 patients Wednes-
day, according to NHK.
Bases in Japan continue to up-
date their travel limits in prefec-
tures where coronavirus condi-
tions are changing and where
emergencies are underway.
Yokota Air Base in western To-
kyo, for example, permits non-
mission essential travel within Ai-
chi, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyo-
go, Hokkaido, Okayama, Hiroshi-
ma with approval by a squadron
commander or equivalent until
Monday and for leave in Okinawa
until June 20, according to a base
Facebook post Wednesday.
Marine Corps Air Station Iwa-
kuni put all prefectures under
emergencies off limits for leave
and liberty, according to its Face-
book page.
U.S. Army Japan divided emer-
gency prefectures into those of
significant risk and those of high
risk. Significant risk areas in-
clude the 23 central wards of To-
kyo and the prefectures of Aichi,
Hyogo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Oita
and Okayama. A colonel or equiv-
alent must sign off on leave re-
quests in those areas, the com-
mand announced Wednesday on
Facebook.
High risk areas include Fukuo-
ka, Osaka, Hokkaido and Okina-
wa prefectures, and travel there
requires the commanding gener-
al’s approval.
For all commands, basic pro-
hibitions remain in effect for
bars, adult entertainment venues
like nightclubs, dance and ka-
raoke clubs and similar business-
es.
Tokyo on Wednesday reported
van additional 743 people have
been infected with the coronavi-
rus, 23 fewer than the same day a
week ago, NHK reported. Neigh-
boring Kanagawa prefecture,
home to several U.S. military in-
stallations, reported 225 cases on
Wednesday, 44 fewer than a week
ago.
US bases updaterules as virussurges in Japan
BY JOSEPH DITZLER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @JosephDitzler
MILITARY
LAS VEGAS — Military and federal authorities
said Tuesday they were probing the cause of a
fighter jet crash that killed a civilian pilot but did
not injure anyone on the ground in a residential
area near Nellis Air Force Base.
The Dassault Mirage F-1 that crashed Monday
afternoon was owned and operated by Florida-
based Draken US, a military contractor providing
“adversary air support” during aerial war games
flown from Nellis into restricted air space over
central Nevada, a statement from the base said.
The pilot was Nicholas Hunter Hamilton, 43, of
Las Vegas, the Clark County coroner said. He was
the only person aboard the French aircraft, which
records show was built in 1982.
Hamilton graduated from the Air Force Acade-
my in 2000 and was a fighter pilot for 20 years,
including multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq,
the Reno Gazette Journal said. He retired from
the Air Force in March 2020 to fly for Draken In-
ternational.
In Las Vegas, homeowner Jose Villanueva told
the Las Vegas Review-Journal he escaped injury
when the jet slammed into his yard and his uncle’s
adjacent yard. Attempts by AP to reach Villanue-
va by telephone were not successful.
“It was a really, really, really, really strong
noise,” he told the newspaper.
The National Transportation Safety Board
joined military officials in the investigation.
Agency spokesman Eric Weiss said Tuesday it
was too early to report on a cause of the crash.
Preliminary findings will be released within
two weeks, Weiss said, and findings and a final
report could take up to two years.
Draken spokeswoman Christina Childs said the
company, based in Lakeland, Fla., was cooperat-
ing with federal, state and local authorities in-
cluding the NTSB.
Draken provides tactical aircraft, “adversarial
support, electronic attack or customized rotary
wing training,” and pilots including former U.S.
military personnel, for combat training at Nellis
and other sites.
“We train the next generation of fighter pilots
which is a crucial aspect of our national security,”
Childs said in an email.
She did not immediately respond to messages
about Hamilton's military history.
In August 2016, not far from Nellis, a Draken
pilot with more than two decades of experience
received minor injuries when he ejected before
the Douglas A-4K Skyhawk he was flying crashed
in the desert near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Investigators later said it appeared that debris
entered the engine of the Vietnam War-era attack
jet, causing a loss of power.
L.E. BASKOW, LAS VEGAS REVIEWJOURNAL/ AP
Military personnel investigate a fighter jet crash near Nellis Air Force Base on Monday in Las Vegas. Acivilian pilot was killed in the crash.
Military, officials investigate fataljet crash in Las Vegas near base
Associated Press
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
Once deployed, ships avoided
most port calls. Some stayed at sea
for 10 months.
That followed the mass infec-
tion of some 1,200 sailors, includ-
ing one who died, on the aircraft
carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt
in March 2020.
The Navy is now seeing the mil-
itary’s highest vaccination rate
and the lowest number of CO-
VID-19 cases, Sawyer wrote. More
than 230,000 Navy and Marine
Corps personnel have been fully
immunized, he said.
“We must continue to pursue
full vaccination and apply best
health protection measures both
at home and at work to sustain and
improve upon this performance,”
Sawyer said.
Marines, who routinely deploy
those joining a crew underway, re-
gardless of immunization status.
Sailors diagnosed with CO-
VID-19 in the past three months
who have antibodies will also be
able to skip the 14-day quarantine
before deployments, the message
stated.
Unvaccinated sailors who don’t
have antibodies for COVID-19 will
still be required to comply with
previous quarantine and testing
protocols.
The pandemic was particularly
disruptive on ships and subma-
rines, where social distancing in
tight quarters is all but impossi-
ble. Crews had been required to
board ships early for quarantine
ahead of deployments, adding two
more weeks to time away.
on Navy ships, have been less will-
ing than sailors to get vaccinated.
Nearly 40% of the 123,000 Marines
who had the chance to receive the
vaccine by April had declined it,
USA Today reported, citing Pen-
tagon figures.
None of the fully immunized
sailors and Marines have been
hospitalized to date for COVID-19,
the Navy said, highlighting the op-
erational importance of wide-
spread vaccination.
“The science is pretty clear,
vaccinations are key to best pro-
tecting our sailors,” Sawyer said.
“The more sailors that are vacci-
nated, the better for them, their
families, the Navy and the nation.”
JOHN BELLINO/U.S. Navy
Seaman Jlyn Bautista administers a COVID19 vaccine to Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Wingle aboardthe amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington in April.
Rules: Navy has highest vaccination rate in military
[email protected]: @montgomerynance
FROM PAGE 1
contact with an animal or from a
lab accident.
As the coronavirus ravaged the
U.S. and much of the world last
year, an early theory was that it
emerged from a market in Wuhan
that sold meat from wild animals
raised in captivity and then swiftly
spread across the globe. Experts
in viral genome evolution deter-
mined that it almost certainly was
not engineered as a bioweapon be-
cause it has several naturally oc-
curring features and is closely re-
lated to a 2014 coronavirus that
came from a bat in a cave in China.
But they also said they could not
rule out that the virus may have
escaped from the Wuhan Institute
of Virology, a research lab that
studies coronaviruses.
While the lab leak theory was
initially dismissed as unlikely, re-
cent reports about the hospitaliza-
tion of Wuhan lab researchers in
November 2019 — weeks before
the virus was identified in that city
— have given it new traction. A
WHO-led team concluded in Feb-
ruary that a lab leak was extreme-
ly unlikely after visiting the Wu-
han facility, but some internation-
al scientists and researchers said
the findings were tainted by poli-
tics and called for further investi-
gation.
Hundreds of zoonotic viruses
jump from animals to humans and
cause all manner of diseases,
which is why scientists’ default as-
sumption was that the pandemic
was a naturally occurring event.
Many scientists who study zoonot-
ic diseases say it’s still the more
likely scenario. But in part be-
cause scientists have not yet iden-
tified the animal that may have
spread the virus to humans, the
Wuhan lab theory has gained
more credibility.
At a White House briefing Tues-
day, Anthony Fauci, the govern-
ment’s leading infectious disease
expert, said he believes it’s most
likely the virus originated from a
“natural occurrence.” But he said
a deeper probe is warranted.
At that same briefing, Andy Sla-
vitt, the White House senior advis-
er on the coronavirus response,
expressed frustration at barriers
imposed on international scien-
tists by the Chinese government.
“It is our position that we need
to get to the bottom of this, and we
need a completely transparent
process from China. We need the
WHO to assist in that matter. We
don’t feel like we have that now,”
Slavitt said. “That’s a critical pri-
ority for us.”
The United Nations agency had
released a joint report with Chi-
nese scientists in March after a
WHO-led mission spent four
weeks in Wuhan earlier this year.
But the U.S. and other nations
raised concerns about the limits
placed on that mission and called
on China to be more transparent.
The U.S. and other nations voiced
concern that “the international
expert study on the source of the
SARS-CoV-2 virus was signifi-
cantly delayed and lacked access
to complete, original data and
samples.”
The comments from Biden offi-
cials on Tuesday reiterate the ad-
ministration’s stance, but it re-
mains unclear whether or how
they might exert pressure on Chi-
na to be more transparent.
The Biden administration has
not retracted a statement by the
Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, released during the
Trump administration, that said
the intelligence community “con-
curs with the wide scientific con-
sensus that the COVID-19 virus
was not man-made or genetically
modified.” The statement said
that intelligence agencies would
continue to examine information
“to determine whether the out-
break began through contact with
infected animals, or if it was the
result of an accident at a laborato-
ry in Wuhan.”
Although the Trump adminis-
tration also sought answers on the
virus’s origins, some officials went
further, suggesting China inten-
tionally released or engineered
the virus. Trump’s former trade
adviser, Peter Navarro, was one of
the biggest proponents of that the-
ory and accused China of engi-
neering the virus as a bioweapon.
The Wall Street Journal report-
ed earlier this week that three re-
searchers from the Wuhan Insti-
tute of Virology lab became sick
enough in November 2019 that
they sought hospital care, renew-
ing interest in the lab origin theo-
ry.
The newspaper cited a U.S. in-
telligence report as the source and
noted that one person said the in-
formation came from an “interna-
tional partner,” who described it
as potentially significant but need-
ing further corroboration.
That echoed an earlier report
from the State Department,
which, in the final days of the
Trump administration, said “the
U.S. government has reason to be-
lieve that several researchers in-
side the [Wuhan Institute of Virol-
ogy] became sick in autumn
2019.”
The statement did not say pre-
cisely when the workers allegedly
fell ill, or how many became sick,
but noted that their symptoms
emerged “before the first identi-
fied case of the outbreak” and
were “consistent with both CO-
VID-19 and common seasonal ill-
nesses.”
Probe: Theory of lableak gaining traction FROM PAGE 1
VIRUS OUTBREAK
The company studied more than
3,700 12- to 17-year-olds. Prelimina-
ry findings showed the vaccine trig-
gered the same signs of immune
protection in kids as it does in
adults, and the same kind of tempo-
rary side effects such as sore arms,
headache and fatigue.
There were no COVID-19 diag-
noses in those given two doses of the
Moderna vaccine compared with
four cases among kids given dum-
my shots. In a press release, the
company also said the vaccine ap-
peared 93% effective two weeks af-
ter the first dose.
While children are far less likely
than adults to get seriously ill from
COVID-19, they represent about
14% of the nation’s coronavirus
Moderna said Tuesday that its
COVID-19 vaccine strongly pro-
tects kids as young as 12, a step that
could put the shot on track to be-
come the second option for that age
group in the United States.
With global vaccine supplies still
tight, much of the world is strug-
gling to vaccinate adults in the
quest to end the pandemic. But ear-
lier this month, the U.S. and Canada
authorized another vaccine — the
shot made by Pfizer and BioNTech
— to be used starting at age 12.
Moderna aims to be next in line,
saying it will submit its teen data to
the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration and other global regulators
early next month.
cases. At least 316 have died in the
U.S. alone, according to a tally by
the American Academy of Pediat-
rics.
With plenty of vaccine supply in
the U.S., younger teens flocked to
get Pfizer’s shot in the days after
FDA opened it to them, part of a
push to get as many kids vaccinated
as possible before the next school
year.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have
begun testing in even younger chil-
dren, from age 11 down to 6-month-
old babies. This testing is more
complex: Teens receive the same
dose as adults, but researchers are
testing smaller doses in younger
children. Experts hope to see some
results in the fall.
Moderna: Vaccine works from age 12Associated Press
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
NATION
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former
Sen. John W. Warner, of Virginia, a
former Navy secretary, has died at
94.
Warner died Tuesday of heart
failure at home in
Alexandria, Va,
with his wife and
daughter at his
side, his longtime
chief of staff, Su-
san A. Magill,
said Wednesday.
“He was frail
but had a lot of
spirit and was involved until his last
days,” Magill said.
Warner was a centrist Republi-
can and a courtly figure whose mar-
riage to movie star Elizabeth Taylor
drew huge crowds when he was
elected to the Senate in 1978. Serv-
ing five terms before retiring from
the chamber 30 years later, he drew
support from moderates of both ma-
jor parties, establishing himself at
the center of American politics.
He was a key supporter of Presi-
dent George W. Bush’s declaration
of war in Iraq, and served for a time
as chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee. He had an in-
dependent streak that sometimes
angered more conservative GOP
leaders, but he was hugely popular
with Virginia voters.
Warner was the sixth of Taylor’s
seven husbands. The two were mar-
ried in 1976 and divorced in 1982.
Taylor wrote later that they re-
mained friends, but she “just
couldn’t bear the intense loneli-
ness” when he became engrossed in
his Senate duties.
The former secretary of the Navy,
a veteran of World War II and Ko-
rea, Warner devoted most of his ca-
reer to military matters.
Warner often defended the Bush
administration’s handling of the
war in Iraq, but he also showed a
willingness to buck the White
House.
After a 2007 trip to Iraq, Warner
called upon Bush to start bringing
troops home. He summoned top
Pentagon officials to hearings about
the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scan-
dal and the Iraq War.
Former senator, Navy secretary Warner dies at 94Associated Press
Warner
WASHINGTON — Senators la-
bored to find a path forward for
legislation creating a commission
on the Jan. 6 insurrection, debat-
ing potential changes in a long-
shot attempt to overcome growing
GOP opposition.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins
and Democratic Sen. Joe Man-
chin were leading the informal
talks Tuesday, according to two
people familiar with the effort.
The talks were focusing on two is-
sues that Republican senators
have cited for their opposition to
the House-passed legislation to
create the commission — ensur-
ing that the panel’s staff is evenly
split between the parties and that
its work does not spill over into
the midterm election year.
Collins and Manchin have trad-
ed potential changes to the bill
and have consulted with other
senators as part of the effort, ac-
cording to the two people and an-
other person with knowledge of
the negotiations. The three people
spoke on condition of anonymity
to discuss the private talks.
The House bill already at-
tempts to address those two is-
sues, requiring the Democratic-
appointed chair to consult with
Republicans when hiring staff,
and setting an end date of Dec. 31,
2021, for the commission to issue
its findings. And the commission-
ers would be evenly split between
the parties, with five Democrats
and five Republicans. But many
Republicans have still said they
don’t trust it will be a bipartisan
effort, threatening the chances of
a truly independent look at the vi-
olent attack on the Capitol by a
mob of former President Donald
Trump’s supporters.
Absent an agreement on chang-
es, Republicans are expected to
block the bill whenever Demo-
crats bring it up for a vote, poten-
tially as soon as this week. Only a
handful of GOP senators have in-
dicated they will vote for it, and
Democrats appear to be far short
of the 10 Republicans they need to
bypass a filibuster.
In a statement with Arizona
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a fellow
moderate Democrat, Manchin
said that the attack was “horrific”
and that the bipartisan commis-
sion is a “critical step.”
“We implore our Senate Re-
publican colleagues to work with
us to find a path forward on a
commission to examine the
events of January 6th,” the two
senators said.
BILL O’LEARY, THE WASHINGTON POST/AP
Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., listens as Sen. Susan Collins, RMaine, on the monitor behind him, asks questions during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Senators attempting to salvagelegislation on Jan. 6 commission
BY MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Senate Re-
publicans revived negotiations
over President Joe Biden’s
sweeping investment plan, pre-
paring a $1 trillion infrastructure
proposal that would be funded
with COVID-19 relief money as a
counteroffer to the White House
ahead of a Memorial Day dead-
line toward a bipartisan deal.
The Republicans said Tuesday
that they would disclose details of
the new offer by Thursday,
sounding upbeat after both sides
had panned other offers.
At the White House, press sec-
retary Jen Psaki declined to ad-
dress the new plan but said, “We
expect this week to be a week of
progress.”
Talks over the infrastructure
investment are at a crossroads as
Biden reaches for a top legisla-
tive priority. The White House is
assessing whether the president
can strike a bipartisan deal with
Republicans on his American
Jobs Plan or whether he will try
to go it alone with Democrats if
no progress is made in the days
ahead.
Yet the administration and the
GOP senators remain far apart
over the size and scope of the in-
vestment needed to reboot the na-
tion’s roads, bridges and broad-
band — but also, as Biden sees it,
the child care centers and green
energy investments needed for a
21st-century economy. They also
can’t agree on how to pay for it.
The Republicans have uni-
formly rejected Biden’s plan to
pay for the investments by rais-
ing the corporate tax rate, from
21% to 28%. Instead, the GOP sen-
ators want to shift unspent CO-
VID-19 relief funds to infrastruc-
ture, which may be a nonstarter
for Democrats. Republicans also
want to rely on gas taxes, tolls
and other fees charged to drivers
to pay for the highways and other
infrastructure.
The Republicans said their
new proposal would be aligned
with what they discussed with Bi-
den in their first Oval Office
meeting almost two weeks ago.
“We are anxious to have a bi-
partisan agreement,” said Sen.
Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.,
who is leading the group of GOP
negotiators.
A GOP aide who spoke on con-
dition of anonymity to discuss the
private talks said the price tag
would be $1 trillion over eight
years, paid for by tapping funds
that have been allocated as part
of COVID-19 relief but not yet
spent. The aide said about $700
billion remains in unspent virus
aid.
Democrats on Capitol Hill
were quick to rebuff dipping into
coronavirus relief funds, partic-
ularly money that had been sent
to the states and local govern-
ments that now seems less urgent
as some jurisdictions reported
better-than-expected balance
sheets.
GOP senators ready$1T infrastructureresponse to Biden
Associated Press
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
NATION
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors
have convened a special grand jury to consid-
er evidence in a criminal investigation into
former President Donald Trump's business
dealings, a person familiar with the matter
told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The development signals that the Manhat-
tan district attorney’s office was moving to-
ward seeking charges as a result of its two-
year investigation, which included a lengthy
legal battle to obtain Trump’s tax records.
The person familiar with the matter was
not authorized to speak publicly and did so on
condition of anonymity. The news was first
reported by The Washington Post.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance
Jr. is conducting a wide-ranging investiga-
tion into a variety of matters such as hush-
money payments paid to women on Trump’s
behalf, property valuations and employee
compensation.
The Democratic prosecutor has been us-
ing an investigative grand jury through the
course of his probe to issue subpoenas and
obtain documents. That panel kept working
while other grand juries and court activities
were shut down because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
The investigation includes scrutiny of
Trump’s relationship with his lenders; a land
donation he made to qualify for an income tax
deduction; and tax write-offs his company
claimed on millions of dollars in consulting
fees it paid.
The new grand jury could eventually be
asked to consider returning indictments.
While working on that case, it also will be
hearing other matters. The Post reported
that the grand jury will meet three days a
week for six months.
Trump contends the investigation is a
“witch hunt.”
“This is purely political, and an affront to
the almost 75 million voters who supported
me in the Presidential Election, and it’s being
driven by highly partisan Democrat prose-
cutors," Trump said in a statement.
Vance’s office declined to comment.
The new grand jury is the latest sign of in-
creasing momentum in the criminal investi-
gation into the Republican ex-president and
his company, the Trump Organization.
Attorney General Letitia James said last
week that she assigned two lawyers to work
with Vance’s office on the probe after her civ-
il investigation into Trump evolved into a
criminal matter.
James, a Democrat, said her office also is
continuing its civil investigation into Trump.
She did not say what prompted her office to
expand its investigation into a criminal
probe.
NY seats new grand jury in Trump probeBY MICHAEL R. SISAK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republican
leaders forcefully condemned
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor
Greene on Tuesday, calling her
comments comparing COVID-19
safety measures such as mask-
wearing to the treatment of Jews
in Nazi Germany “appalling.”
“Marjorie is wrong, and her in-
tentional decision to compare the
horrors of the Holocaust with
wearing masks is appalling,”
House Republican leader Kevin
McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a
statement, which stopped short of
calling for Greene to face disci-
plinary measures. “The fact that
this needs to be stated today is
deeply troubling.”
Greene, a conservative fire-
brand from Georgia and ally of
former President Donald Trump,
has thrived on stirring controver-
sy, pushing conspiracy theories
and forcefully confronting her
colleagues since taking her seat in
the House in January. But, until
now, Republican leaders have
proven hesitant to criticize her
and refused to join with Demo-
crats earlier this year when they
voted to strip her of committee as-
signments.
Their rebuke Tuesday came af-
ter Greene made an appearance
on a conservative podcast, “The
Water Cooler with David Brody,”
released last Thursday. In her in-
terview, Greene excoriated safety
protocols adopted by House Dem-
ocrats, including a requirement
that masks be worn on the House
floor. She also called House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi “mentally
ill” and suggested that the rules
were comparable to the treatment
of Jews during the Holocaust.
“You know, we can look back in
a time and history where people
were told to wear a gold star. And
they were definitely treated like
second-class citizens, so much so
that they were put in trains and
taken to gas chambers in Nazi
Germany,” Greene said on the
podcast. “This is exactly the type
of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talk-
ing about.”
After her remarks sparked a
firestorm of online criticism,
Greene leaned in to the compari-
son further.
On Tuesday, she tweeted out a
news story about a grocery store
chain that plans to allow vaccinat-
ed employees to go maskless.
Those who do would have a logo
on their name tags indicating they
had been vaccinated.
“Vaccinated employees get a
vaccination logo just like the Na-
zi’s forced Jewish people to wear
a gold star,” Greene tweeted.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., called
Greene’s comments one of her
“frequent outbursts that are abso-
lutely outrageous and reprehensi-
ble.” Still, he said any disciplinary
action against her would have to
come from the House.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New
York, the No. 3 House GOP lead-
er, said “equating mask wearing
and vaccines to the Holocaust”
minimized “the most significant
human atrocities ever commit-
ted.”
Democrats said Greene should
face more than just a public re-
buke.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill.,
proposed censuring Greene.
House Majority Leader Steny
Hoyer, D-Md., called on her to
“change her rhetoric and behav-
ior if she intends to remain a
Member of the House.” Pelosi,
who previously suggested that
Greene could face an ethics inqui-
ry, called her comments “so be-
yond reprehensible” that they
should have “no place in our
country.”
JABIN BOTSFORD / The Washington Post
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, RGa., walks out after a vote May 13. Republican leaders have condemnedGreene comparing coronavirus safety requirements to the Holocaust.
GOP leaders condemnGreene over remarks
Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Gunfire
erupted Wednesday at a railyard
in San Jose, and a sheriff’s spokes-
man said multiple people were
killed and wounded and that the
suspect was dead.
Santa Clara County sheriff’s
spokesman Deputy Russell Davis
said that he could not specify the
number of dead and wounded or
describe how the suspect died.
The shooting took place around
6:30 a.m. at a light rail facility next
door to the sheriff’s department
and across a freeway from the air-
port. The facility is a transit con-
trol center that stores trains and
has a maintenance yard.
Davis said he did not know the
type of weapon used or whether
the shooting happened indoors or
outdoors. He said the victims in-
clude Valley Transportation Au-
thority employees.
The VTA provides bus, light rail
and other transit services
throughout Santa Clara County,
the largest in the Bay Area and
home to Silicon Valley.
“A horrible tragedy has hap-
pened today, and our thoughts and
love go out to the VTA family,”
VTA Chairman Glenn Hendricks
told a news conference.
VTA trains were already out on
morning runs when the shooting
occurred. Light rail service was to
be suspended at noon and re-
placed with bus bridges, Hen-
dricks said.
Outside the scene, Michael
Hawkins told The Mercury News
that he was waiting for his mother,
Rochelle Hawkins, who had called
him from a co-worker’s phone to
assure him that she was safe.
When the shooting started, “she
got down with the rest of her cow-
orkers” and dropped her cell-
phone, Michael Hawkins told the
newspaper. Rochelle Hawkins did
not see the shooter, and she was
not sure how close she had been to
the attacker, her son said.
Officials: Multiple deaths, injuries in shooting at Calif. railyardAssociated Press
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
NATION
WASHINGTON — A majority of
Americans across racial and eth-
nic groups believe discrimination
has worsened in the last year
against Asian Americans, who be-
came the target of attacks after be-
ing unfairly blamed for the corona-
virus pandemic.
A poll from The Associated
Press-NORC Center for Public Af-
fairs Research finds 60% of Amer-
icans say discrimination against
Asian Americans has swelled com-
pared with a year ago, including
71% of Asian Americans, 66% of
Black Americans, 59% of white
Americans and 55% of Hispanic
Americans.
Nearly half of Americans be-
lieve Asian Americans encounter
“a great deal” or “quite a lot” of dis-
crimination in the United Statesto-
day. The poll also finds about 6 in 10
Americans say racism in the U.S. in
general is a “very” or “extremely”
serious problem. And a majority of
Asian Americans say they feel un-
safe in public because of their race.
Susan Lee, of Sacramento, Calif.,
said friends initiated conversa-
tions with her about racism as ran-
dom attacks on Asians became
more frequent, but the 72-year-old
Chinese American noted a key dif-
ference between friends who were
Asian and non-Asian.
“My non-Asian friends are prob-
ably more astonished that this is
occurring,” Lee said. “I think Chi-
nese or ‘Asians’ have always been
looked at as a positive asset. I think
they are puzzled by that situation.”
Barbara Canchola, 76, of El Pa-
so, Texas, said she would have an-
swered “not at all” if she had been
asked pre-pandemic if Asian
Americans face racism. Canchola,
who identifies as Hispanic, said
she associated anti-Asian discrimi-
nation as something way in the past
like Japanese American intern-
ment camps during World War II.
“I really wouldn’t think they are
facing any kind of discrimination
because I happen to think they’re
very well educated — most of them
— and they don’t face that much
scrutiny,” Canchola said. “Howev-
er, ever since the pandemic began
and it was a labeled a ‘China thing,’
that’s where it all began.”
She attributes her new outlook to
all the television coverage “where
the people are being assaulted on
the street out of the blue.”
Renee Tajima-Pena, an Asian
American Studies professor at the
University of California, Los An-
geles and co-producer of the PBS
docuseries “Asian Americans,”
isn’t surprised some people have
never thought of Asian Americans
as victims. The dominant narrative
has always been they are success-
ful, don’t speak up and, therefore,
encounter little racism.
“The model minority myth is
such a drug for Americans,” Taji-
ma-Pena said.
NAM Y. HUH/AP
A woman holds a sign and attends a rally to support stop AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) hateat the Logan Square Monument in Chicago in March.
More Americans feel anti-Asianhatred has risen over past year
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Ecologist
Rolf Peterson remembers driving
remote stretches of road in Michi-
gan’s Upper Peninsula and seeing
areas strewn with deer carcasses.
But that changed after gray
wolves arrived in the region from
Canada and Minnesota.
“When wolves moved in during
the 1990s and 2000s, the deer-ve-
hicle collisions went way down,”
said the Michigan Tech research-
er.
Recently, another team of scien-
tists has gathered data about road
collisions and wolf movements in
Wisconsin to quantify how the ar-
rival of wolves there affected the
frequency of deer-auto collisions.
They found it created what scien-
tists call “a landscape of fear.”
“In a pretty short period of time,
once wolves colonize a county,
deer vehicle collisions go down
about 24%,” said Dominic Parker,
a natural resources economist at
the University of Wisconsin, Ma-
dison and co-author of their new
study published Monday in the
journal Proceedings of the Nation-
al Academy of Sciences.
Both the thinning of the deer
population by wolves and behav-
ior changes in fearful deer are fac-
tors in the drop-off, Parker said.
“When you have a major preda-
tor around, it impacts how the
prey behave,” he said. “Wolves
use linear features of a landscape
as travel corridors, like roads,
pipelines and stream beds. Deer
learn this and can adapt by staying
away.”
Gray wolves, among the first
species protected under the En-
dangered Species Act in 1973,
were reintroduced to Yellowstone
National Park in 1995. But in other
regions of the United States, gray
wolves have dispersed naturally;
the population in the lower 48
states now totals about 5,500.
The new study said that the
presence of wolves, maligned by
ranchers whose livestock suffers
predation, can also save money by
indirectly reducing deer-vehicle
collisions. In 2008, a study for the
U.S. Department of Transporta-
tion estimated that those crashes
cost more than $8 billion annually.
“Most economic studies of
wolves have been negative, focus-
ing on livestock losses,” said Dave
Mech, a senior research scientist
for the U.S. Geological Survey in
Minnesota, who was not involved
in the new study and praised it.
“But wolves also reshape ecosys-
tems in many ways, although
that’s hard to measure econom-
ically.”
Some studies have looked at tou-
rism revenue generated by wolf-
watchers in Yellowstone, but that
money doesn’t flow directly to
communities living alongside
wolves, said Jennifer Raynor, a
natural resources economist at
Wesleyan University and a co-au-
thor of the new study.
“We wanted to look at other
ways the wolves impacted the re-
gion,” Raynor said. “These auto
collisions are happening, or not
happening, in rural areas, and so
are livestock damages.”
Peterson, who was not involved
in the research, also said, “If any-
thing, the researchers underesti-
mated the value of the deer-vehi-
cle crashes. The deeper dimen-
sion of these collision costs can in-
clude large medical bills and,
sometimes, human fatalities.”
The wolf study “adds to growing
awareness that scientists should
consider both the costs and the
benefits of having large carni-
vores on the landscape,” said
Adrian Treves, a University of
Wisconsin conservation biologist
not involved in the study.
Wolves scare deer and reduce auto collisions 24%, study saysBY CHRISTINA LARSON
Associated Press
As bad as last year’s record-
shattering fire season was, the
western United States starts
this year’s in even worse
shape.
The soil in the West is record
dry for this time of year. In
much of the region, plants that
fuel fires are also the driest
scientists have seen. The vege-
tation is primed to ignite, espe-
cially in the Southwest where
dead juniper trees are full of
flammable needles.
“It’s like having gasoline out
there,” said Brian Steinhardt,
forest fire zone manager for
Prescott and Coconino nation-
al forests in Arizona.
A climate change-fueled
megadrought of more than 20
years is making conditions that
lead to fire even more danger-
ous, scientists said. Rainfall in
the Rockies and farther west
was the second-lowest on re-
cord in April, according to the
National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration.
“It means that the dice are
loaded toward a lot of forest
fire this year,” said Park Wil-
liams, a UCLA climate and fire
scientist, who calculated that
soil in the western half of the
nation is the driest it has been
since 1895. “This summer,
we’re going into fire season
with drier fuels than we were
at this time last year.”
In addition, the western
drought is deepening week by
week.
In late March, less than one-
third of California was suffer-
ing extreme or exceptional
drought. Now, more than 73%
is, according to the National
Drought Monitor, which is
based on precipitation, tem-
perature, soil moisture and
streamflow measurements. A
year ago, heading into the re-
cord-smashing 2020 fire year
when more than 4% of Califor-
nia burned, just 3% of the state
was in extreme or exceptional
drought.
But the outlook is worse
elsewhere.
“I think the Southwest is re-
ally primed for a bad fire sea-
son,” University of Utah fire
scientist Phil Dennison said.
That’s because last year’s nor-
mal monsoon season, which
brings much of the year’s rain-
fall, never showed up.
A year ago, none of Arizona,
Nevada and Utah was in ex-
treme or exceptional drought,
but now, more than 90% of
Utah, 86% of Arizona and 75%
of Nevada is in those highest
drought categories, according
to the drought monitor. New
Mexico jumped from 4% ex-
treme or exceptional drought a
year ago to more than 77%
now.
Western US fire
season starts drier
than record 2020Associated Press “It’s like having
gasoline outthere.”
Brian Steinhardt
Prescott and Coconino forest fire
zone manager
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
MINNEAPOLIS — A family-
friendly street festival, musical
performances and moments of si-
lence were held Tuesday to honor
George Floyd and mark the year
since he died at the hands of Min-
neapolis police, a death captured
on wrenching bystander video
that galvanized the racial justice
movement and continues to bring
calls for change.
Floyd’s sister Bridgett and oth-
er family members held a mo-
ment of silence at a “Celebration
of Life” event at a downtown Min-
neapolis park that included mu-
sic, food trucks, an inflatable
bouncy house and a vaccination
stand. A few miles away, at the
site of the intersection where
Floyd died, dozens of people
kneeled around a steel fist sculp-
ture for several minutes — sym-
bolizing the 9 minutes, 29 seconds
during which Floyd was pinned
down.
“It’s been a troubling year, a
long year,” Bridgett Floyd told the
crowd downtown. “But we made
it. ... The love is here. George is
here.”
Other members of Floyd’s fam-
ily met in Washington with Presi-
dent Joe Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris, who urged Con-
gress to quickly pass a law in
Floyd’s name that would bring
changes to policing. A moment of
silence to honor Floyd was also
held in New York and a rally was
held in Los Angeles. Globally, a
rally took place in Germany and
Floyd’s death was marked by U.S.
embassies in Greece and Spain.
Hours before the Minneapolis
festivities, the intersection where
Floyd died was disrupted by gun-
fire.
Associated Press video from
38th Street and Chicago Avenue
— informally known as George
Floyd Square — showed people
running for cover as shots rang
out. Police said a man, who they
believe was injured in the shoot-
ing, went to a nearby hospital with
a gunshot wound. Police said he
was in critical condition but was
expected to survive. There were
no immediate arrests.
Philip Crowther, a reporter
working for AP Global Media Ser-
vices, which provides live video
coverage, reported hearing as
many as 30 gunshots about a block
from the intersection. Crowther
said a storefront window ap-
peared to have been broken by
gunshots.
“Very quickly things got back to
normal,” Crowther said. “People
here who spend a significant
amount of time, the organizers,
were running around asking,
‘Does anyone need a medic?’ ”
Like other major cities, Min-
neapolis has been struggling with
rising gun violence, a problem
made worse, in part, by many offi-
cers leaving the embattled force
since Floyd’s death. A 6-year-old
girl was fatally shot and two other
children wounded in recent
weeks. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob
Frey last week unveiled sweeping
public safety proposals aimed at
fixing the problem. Other groups
are pursuing a more radical re-
making of the police department.
The intersection of 38th and
Chicago has been barricaded
since soon after Floyd’s death. It
quickly turned into a memorial —
and also a challenging spot for the
city, with police officers not al-
ways welcome.
The square was transformed
Tuesday into an outdoor festival,
with food, children’s activities and
music. At times, people danced in
the street. Artwork and signs from
protests after Floyd’s death also
were on display. One group hosted
an open mic next to a greenhouse
that community members con-
structed earlier this year to house
flowers left by mourners. Nearby,
abrass band played for passersby.
The celebration also included a
candlelight vigil, capping several
days of marches, rallies and panel
discussions about his death and
confronting racial discrimination.
Xavier Simmons, 24, from Rac-
ine, Wis., chanted “Say his name!”
as people kneeled. Simmons said
he hopes people taking part in the
festivities will both honor Floyd’s
life and legacy and continue to
“uplift and empower this move-
ment.”
“We got the verdict that we
needed, but it’s never going to
change until we make a change,”
he said.
“Y’all keep doing the work, be-
cause y’all changing the world,”
Common, an award-winning rap-
per, actor and activist, told the
crowd of hundreds during a musi-
cal performance Tuesday night
prior to the vigil.
After Common left the stage
and day turned to night in George
Floyd Square, people placed can-
dles in every conceivable corner,
lighting up the area.
Earl Vaughn, 20, of Minneapo-
lis, attended the downtown event
and said despite its celebratory at-
mosphere, “For all this a Black
man had to die, so that’s really un-
fortunate.”
In New York City, elected offi-
cials, including Mayor Bill de Bla-
sio and U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jef-
fries, joined the Rev. Al Sharpton
in kneeling for 9 minutes, 29 sec-
onds.
“As we took a knee, imagine
how long that was on a human be-
ing’s neck,” Sharpton said. “Never
switched knees, just dug in. It’s
time we correct policing in this
country.”
On Tuesday evening, activists
and demonstrators gathered with
some families of people who had
died in interactions with the New
York Police Department at Bar-
clays Center in Brooklyn. They
called for defunding the police,
holding officers accountable and
removing police officers from
schools. Following the rally, they
set off on a march through Brook-
lyn streets.
Several Floyd family members,
including his young daughter
Gianna, met with Biden and Har-
ris earlier Tuesday. Biden, who
previously pledged to continue
fighting for racial justice, said he
hopes the Senate can quickly pass
the George Floyd Justice in Polic-
ing Act and get it to his desk.
“We have to act,” he said of the
legislation that would ban choke-
holds and no-knock police raids,
as well as create a national regis-
try for officers disciplined for se-
rious misconduct.
Also on Tuesday, the White
House said that Biden would be
visiting Tulsa, Okla., on June 1 to
commemorate the 100th anniver-
sary of the 1921 massacre that
claimed up to hundreds of lives in
the city.
Floyd’s brother Philonise told
CNN he thinks about George “all
the time.”
“My sister called me at 12
o’clock last night and said, ‘This is
the day our brother left us,’ ” he
said, adding, “I think things have
changed. I think it is moving slow-
ly, but we are making progress.”
Separately, the Floyd family an-
nounced the launch of a fund that
will make grants to businesses
and community organizations in
the neighborhood, as well as
broader grants “encouraging the
success and growth of Black citi-
zens and community harmony.”
The money comes from $500,000
earmarked as part of the city’s $27
million civil settlement for the
Floyd family.
Rallies, momentsof silence honorFloyd a year later
Associated Press
CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AP
The family of Daunte Wright, who was killed by a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of BrooklynCenter last month, gathers on the oneyear anniversary of George Floyd’s death Tuesday in Minneapolis.
NATION
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana
Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tues-
day denounced the deadly 2019
arrest of Ronald Greene as “re-
grettable,” criticizing the state
troopers who repeatedly
stunned, choked and punched the
Black motorist, and also chiding
officers who stood by but failed to
intervene.
“I wouldn’t have been dis-
turbed had I thought it was pro-
fessional, had I thought those of-
ficers had performed as they
should — they did not,” Edwards
told reporters at the state Capitol
in Baton Rouge, offering his most
extensive remarks yet on the con-
troversy.
“They don’t represent what we
aspire to in the state of Louisiana,
at the Louisiana State Police, es-
pecially once Mr. Greene was not
just in custody but was re-
strained,” he added of the troop-
ers involved. “They were not pro-
fessional. They did not conduct
themselves as a law enforcement
officer should, and quite frankly
I’m disappointed in officers who
were on the scene who didn’t in-
tervene as well. That evidences a
lack of professionalism also.”
The Democratic governor’s re-
marks came nearly a week after
The Associated Press began pub-
lishing previously unreleased
body-camera footage that
showed troopers converging on
Greene’s car outside Monroe,
La., after a high-speed chase, re-
peatedly jolting the 49-year-old
unarmed man with stun guns,
putting him in a chokehold,
punching him in the head and
dragging him by his ankle shack-
les.
“It is regrettable, it is unfortu-
nate,” Edwards said, adding, “we
have implemented a number of
changes with the goal of making
sure this does not happen again.”
Col. Lamar Davis, the state po-
lice superintendent, said last
week that the agency had limited
the use of chokeholds and stun
guns and installed new leader-
ship in the Monroe area after
Greene’s death.
La. governor criticizes police in deadly arrest of Black manAssociated Press
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Vegas chapel offers freenuptials for military
NV LAS VEGAS — A Las
Vegas chapel plans to
honor the military on Memorial
Day by offering a chance to say “I
do.”
KVVU-TV reported that the Lit-
tle Vegas Chapel is offering wed-
dings free of charge Monday for
active-duty officers.
The chapel is waiving the cost of
a $129 wedding package which in-
cludes a photographer, marriage
license and up to five guests. Sol-
diers can also apply a $129 credit
to another package.
Any interested officers must
show proof of their active military
status.
Parents criticize alteringyearbook photos
FL ST. JOHNS — Parents
and students are criti-
cizing teachers at a Florida high
school for digitally altering photos
in a yearbook in order to cover up
students whose clothes the school
officials deemed too immodest.
The St. Augustine Record
reported that 80 students at Bar-
tram Trail High School in north-
east Florida had their yearbook
photos altered without their con-
sent in order to cover up exposed
shoulders and low necklines.
The school’s yearbook coordi-
nator, who is a teacher, decided
that the photos were out of dress
code and did some of the editing,
said Christina Langston, school
district spokeswoman.
The school is offering yearbook
refunds to anyone who complains
about the changes and wants to
turn in their yearbook, the schools
spokeswoman said.
Woman bit by snake, falls off ladder
NC MOORESVILLE — A
North Carolina woman
is recovering from a fall off a lad-
der prompted by a surprise snake
bite.
Heatherly Noble was trimming
hedges outside the front door of
her Mooresville home when a
non-venomous black racer
emerged from the bush and bit
her, news outlets reported.
She said she didn’t realize what
caused the pain in her right hand
at first but looked down to see the
snake “rising up out of the bushes
like some sort of demon,” she told
the Winston-Salem Journal.
Footage from a home security
camera shows the snake lunged at
Noble again, causing her to fall to
avoid a second bite.
Attendant loses 2 teethin assault by passenger
TX DALLAS — A South-
west Airlines flight at-
tendant was assaulted by a pas-
senger and lost two teeth in the at-
tack, according to a union presi-
dent, who complained to the
airline’s CEO about unruly pas-
sengers.
“Unfortunately, this is just one
of many occurrences,” said the
union president, Lyn Montgom-
ery. She said there were 477 inci-
dents of “misconduct” by passen-
gers on Southwest planes between
April 8 and May 15.
“The passenger repeatedly ig-
nored standard inflight instruc-
tions and became verbally and
physically abusive upon landing,”
said Southwest spokesman Chris
Mainz. He said police were asked
to meet the plane when it arrived
in San Diego, and the passenger
was taken into custody.
Woman gets back thrownout $1M lottery ticket
MA SOUTHWICK — A
Massachusetts wom-
an who accidentally tossed out a $1
million lottery ticket eventually
collected her winnings thanks to
the kindness and honesty of the
owners of the store where she
bought it.
Lea Rose Fiega bought the $30
Diamond Millions scratch-off tick-
et in March at the Lucky Stop con-
venience store in Southwick near
where she works.
“I was in a hurry, on lunch break,
and just scratched it real quick,
and looked at it, and it didn’t look
like a winner, so I handed it over to
them to throw away,” she said.
“One evening, I was going
through the tickets from the trash
and found out that she didn’t
scratch the number,” Abhi Shah,
the son of the store’s owners told
WWLP-TV. “I scratched the num-
ber and it was $1 million under-
neath the ticket.”
Fiega is a regular customer, so
the family knew immediately who
had discarded it.
The store gets a $10,000 bonus
from the state lottery commission
for selling the winning ticket. Fiega
said she gave the family an addi-
tional reward. She’s saving the
rest for retirement.
Man banned from parksafter videos of misconduct
KS WICHITA — Someone
who posted videos on
TikTok showing a golf cart run-
ning over a sign on a Wichita golf
course and a person chasing geese
from a golf cart has been banned
from all of the city’s park facilities
for a year.
The city had asked on Twitter
for help identifying the culprit.
Within a couple hours, the city
said it had found the man with 150
followers on TikTok who posted
the videos after several people
identified him.
City officials didn’t identify the
offender publicly but they said he
would receive a notice about the
ban that extends to May 21, 2022.
The rules violations document-
ed on the social media site includ-
ed destroying parks department
property, disturbing wildlife and
possessing alcohol, according to
The Wichita Eagle.
2 pets rescued amidblaze at strip mall
MD SOLOMONS — Two
pets were saved from
a veterinary medical center when
a fire broke out at a southern Ma-
ryland strip mall, State Fire Mar-
shals said.
Firefighters dispatched for a
building fire found the strip mall
in Solomons ablaze. Fire depart-
ments from Calvert, St. Mary’s
and Charles counties responded
to bring the fire under control, of-
ficials said.
Solomons Veterinary Medical
Center was one of the businesses
affected by the fire.
Firefighters were able to rescue
two pets and no injuries were re-
ported, officials said.
Alligator hunting seasonto open in August
MS JACKSON — The
Mississippi Depart-
ment of Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks announced the 2021 Public
Waters Alligator Hunting Season
will open Aug. 27 and run through
Sept. 6.
The application process for the
960 available permits will run
from June 1 through June 8,
WJTV-TV reported. Permits are
limited by a random drawing and
an electronic application is re-
quired.
The first drawing will take
place June 14. Any unpurchased
permits from the first drawing
will be entered in a second draw-
ing of remaining available appli-
cants.
JACOB FORD, ODESSA (TEXAS) AMERICAN/AP
University of Texas of the Permian Basin’s STEM Academy second grader William Woosley, 8, rolls a tire in a race against Izabella Phillips, 8,during an elementary school field day at UTPB Park in Odessa, Texas. Activities included a water relay, chicken toss, 50m dash and bounce house.
Big wheels keep on turning
THE CENSUS
160 The approximate number of pigs a truck was carrying when itoverturned in Virginia. According to Suffolk, Va., police, the
tractor-trailer was carrying 160 to 180 pigs and was the only vehicle involved inthe early morning accident. Police said the driver of the truck had minor injuriesand was cited at the scene for failure to maintain proper control. Police did notcomment on the condition of the pigs.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
WORLD
CAIRO — U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken arrived in
Egypt on Wednesday as he
pressed ahead with a diplomatic
mission aimed at shoring up a
cease-fire that ended an 11-day
war between Israel and the Gaza
Strip’s ruling Hamas militant
group.
Blinken landed in Cairo a day af-
ter holding intensive talks with Is-
raeli and Palestinian leaders. In
Egypt, he met with President Ab-
del-Fattah el-Sissi and other top of-
ficials. Later he was to travel to
Jordan to meet with King Abdul-
lah II.
Blinken has vowed to “rally in-
ternational support” to rebuild the
destruction in hard-hit Gaza while
promising to make sure that no
none of the aid reaches Hamas. He
is instead trying to bolster Hamas’
rival, the internationally recog-
nized Palestinian Authority.
Blinken described Egypt and
Jordan as central players in trying
to bring calm to the region. Both
countries are key U.S. allies that
have peace agreements with Israel
and frequently serve as mediators
between Israel and the Palesti-
nians.
“Egypt played a critical role in
helping to broker the cease-fire
and Jordan has long been a voice
for peace and stability in the re-
gion,” he told reporters late Tues-
day.
Egypt maintains ties with Ha-
mas, but also enforces a tight
blockade on Gaza, along with Is-
rael, with a shared goal of prevent-
ing the Islamic group from arming.
Blinken has set modest goals for
the trip, his first official visit to the
Middle East as secretary of state.
The stop in Cairo, along with Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s phone talks with
el-Sissi while the cease-fire was
being negotiated last week, signal
a closer relationship between the
Biden administration and Egypt
after a cooler beginning, when it
expressed concern over el-Sissi’s
human rights record.
During talks with Israeli and
Palestinian leaders on Tuesday, he
made clear that the U.S. has no im-
mediate plans to pursue peace
talks between the sides, though he
expressed hope for creating a “bet-
ter environment” that might lead
to negotiations.
That could begin with the Gaza
reconstruction effort. The 11-day
war killed more than 250 people,
mostly Palestinians, and caused
heavy destruction in the impover-
ished coastal territory. Prelimina-
ry estimates have put the damage
in the hundreds of millions of dol-
lars.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-
general of the Arab League, said
U.S. commitment is critical for the
region.
Blinken arrives inEgypt to shore upGaza cease-fire
Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine — Belarus’ au-
thoritarian president defended
Wednesday his decision to tell a pas-
senger jet to land in his country and
accused European leaders of wag-
ing a “hybrid war” to “strangle” his
nation by ordering up new sanctions
for diverting the flight and arresting
an opposition journalist who was
aboard.
Speaking before lawmakers and
top officials, President Alexander
Lukashenko maintained his conten-
tion that there was a bomb threat
against the Ryanair flight and called
it an “absolute lie” that a fighter jet
he scrambled was forcing the pas-
senger plane to land in Minsk. The
carrier has said its crew was in-
structed to land. The plane was
searched once on the ground, and no
bomb was found — but Raman Pra-
tasevich, a 26-year-old journalist
and activist, and his Russian girlf-
riend were detained.
“I acted in a lawful way, protect-
ing people in line with international
rules,” said 66-year-old Lukashen-
ko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet na-
tion with an iron fist for more than a
quarter-century, relentlessly sti-
fling dissent.
He doubled down on the idea that
there was a grave security risk, say-
ing the plane was flying not far away
from the Astravets nuclear power
plant and adding that he ordered air
defense systems on high alert. “I had
to protect people, I was thinking
about the country’s security,” he
said.
But European Union leaders have
denounced the move to divert the
plane — which was traveling be-
tween two EU countries and being
operated by an airline based in a
third — as an act of piracy. They
quickly agreed to ban Belarusian
airlines from using the airspace and
airports of the 27-nation bloc and
urged European airlines to avoid Be-
larus’ airspace. They agreed to draft
more sanctions on officials linked to
the diversion and ones targeting
businesses that are the main cash
earners for Lukashenko’s regime.
Lukashenko derided that re-
sponse.
“Our ill-wishers outside and in-
side the country have changed their
methods of attacking the state,” Lu-
kashenko said. “That’s why they
switched from organizing riots to
trying to strangle us.”
Belarusian leader defends diversion of flight that sparked furyAssociated Press
BAGHDAD — Clashes between
security forces and protesters left
one person dead and over a dozen
injured Tuesday after hundreds of
Iraqis took to the streets in Bagh-
dad to protest a rise in targeted
killings of prominent activists and
journalists.
Violence erupted near Tahrir
Square in the early evening fol-
lowing a largely peaceful demon-
stration. Iraqi security forces
fired tear gas and live rounds to
disperse the crowds and demon-
strators hurled stones at riot po-
lice, witnesses and Iraqi security
officials said.
One protester was shot and died
in a hospital and over a dozen were
injured, a security official and the
semi-official High Commission
for Human Rights said.
The security officials spoke on
condition of anonymity in line
with regulations.
The shooting began after secu-
rity forces first used tear gas to
disperse the crowds. The demon-
strators responded by throwing
stones, and on some occasions
bricks, at police, according to an
Associated Press videographer on
the scene.
Earlier, demonstrators gath-
ered in the square amid heavy se-
curity, among them protesters
from southern provinces includ-
ing Dhi Qar and Karbala. Ten-
sions there have mounted in re-
cent weeks over the increasingly
frequent targeted killings.
“Today’s protests took place be-
cause the weak government did
not keep its promises to bring the
murderers to justice,” said activist
Kamal Jaban at Tahrir Square.
Many waved Iraqi flags and
raised portraits of Ehab Wazni, a
prominent activist assassinated in
Karbala, among three targeted
killings this month alone. Protes-
ters had given the government two
weeks to hold his killers respon-
sible.
“The government did not deliv-
er, we had to march,” said Jaban.
HADI MIZBAN/AP
Security forces try to disperse antigovernment protesters in Tahrir Square in Baghdad on Tuesday.
At least 1 is killed as protestersscuffle with Iraqi security forces
Associated Press
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
NEW DELHI — Heavy rain and
a high tide lashed parts of eastern
India and neighboring Bangla-
desh as a cyclone pushed ashore
Wednesday in an area where
more than 1.1 million people have
evacuated during a devastating
coronavirus surge.
Cyclone Yaas already had
caused two deaths and damaged
homes as heavy rains pounded
Odisha and West Bengal states be-
fore the storm began making land-
fall in the late morning.
The “very severe cyclonic
storm” is packing sustained winds
of up to 87 mph and gusts up to 97
mph, the India Meteorological De-
partment said. With the storm
now almost fully on land, winds
are expected to weaken by
Wednesday evening.
In Bangladesh, thousands of
people in 200 villages were ma-
rooned as their homes, shops and
farms were flooded by tidal surg-
es.
In southern Patuakhali district,
more than 20 villages in Rangabali
went underwater after two river
embankments were washed away,
said Mashfaqur Rahman, the ar-
ea’s top administrator. He said at
least 15,000 people had taken ref-
uge in cyclone shelters.
In India, television images
showed knee-deep water flooding
the beachfront and other areas of
Digha, a resort town in West Ben-
gal. Wind gusts whipped palm
trees back and forth, and over-
flowing water breached several
river banks.
West Bengal state’s top elected
official, Mamata Banerjee, told re-
porters that 20,000 mud huts and
temporary shelters for the poor
have been damaged along the
coast.
On Tuesday, a tornado snapped
electricity lines that electrocuted
two people and damaged 40
houses, Banerjee said.
More than 6.5 inches of rain fell
in Chandabali and Paradip re-
gions of Odisha state since Tues-
day, the meteorological depart-
ment said. Tidal waves of up to 13
feet were forecast.
Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar air-
ports were shut and train services
canceled. Fishing trawlers and
boats were told to take shelter.
The cyclone, coming amid a
coronavirus surge, complicates
India’s efforts to deal with both af-
ter another storm, Cyclone Tauk-
tae, hit India’s west coast last week
and killed more than 140 people.
Odisha’s chief minister, Naveen
Patnaik, appealed to people in
shelters to wear double masks and
maintain social distancing.
“We have to face both the chal-
lenges simultaneously,” Patnaik
said.
Thousands of emergency per-
sonnel have been deployed to help
with evacuations and rescue oper-
ations, said S.N. Pradhan, director
of India’s National Disaster Re-
sponse Force. The air force and
navy were also on standby.
A year ago, the most powerful
cyclone in more than a decade hit
eastern India and killed nearly 100
people.
“We haven’t been able to fix the
damage to our home from the last
cyclone. Now another cyclone is
coming, how will we stay here?”
said Samitri, who uses only one
name.
Cyclone lashes India, Bangladesh after 1.1M evacuatedAssociated Press
ASHIM PAUL/AP
A cow runs through high tide water at the Digha beach on the Bay of Bengal coast as Cyclone Yaasintensifies in West Bengal state, India, on Wednesday.
WORLD
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander
Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander
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stripes.com
OPINION
WASHINGTON
The skyjacking of a dissident jour-
nalist over Belarus on Sunday was a
brutal action with a simple mess-
age to opponents of dictatorial
President Alexander Lukashenko: We can get
you anywhere.
Are the thugs winning? Sometimes, it may
appear so, but I’d draw a different lesson from
Sunday’s forced landing of a Ryanair flight in
Minsk and the imprisonment there of journal-
ist Roman Protasevich. Even against such
outrageous intimidation, the barrier of fear is
breaking in Belarus. The thugs are getting
desperate. The opposition persists — and af-
ter Sunday’s crude assault, it may grow.
The European Union responded with tough
sanctions a day after the Ryanair plane was
forced down, beginning a process that will
probably block EU air travel to and from Be-
larus. The Belarusian dictator, derided by the
opposition as “the cockroach” after clinging
to power since 1994, is more isolated. Even
Russian President Vladimir Putin is said to
dislike him.
The persistent protests in Belarus get little
attention, but they’re inspiring. Dissident
blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky announced a
year ago that he planned to challenge Lukash-
enko in last August’s presidential elections.
When he was arrested two days later, his wife,
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, stepped up and ran
on her own.
Tikhanovskaya ran a rousing campaign
and claimed she won in August with 60% to
70% of the vote. Lukashenko, the perennial in-
cumbent, insisted he had triumphed by 80%
and promptly arrested all the members of the
coordination council the opposition had
formed to manage the transfer of power.
The protests began, tens of thousands in the
streets, waving the red-and-white banner of
the opposition. Huge crowds of Belarusian
patriots faced down the security forces,
chanting “Stop the cockroach!” Lukashenko
arrested an estimated 35,000 people.
The protests continued, but more carefully.
Displaying the opposition’s colors in the
streets could mean immediate arrest, so Bela-
rusians began hanging their laundry in red-
and-white patterns or wearing red-and-white
socks. Dissident journalist Ihar Losik had
been arrested in June 2020, but Protasevich
continued a blog called Nexta on the encrypt-
ed social media app Telegram. The KGB beat
and arrested people, but thejournalists and
their followers continued to share the truth.
That’s what led to Sunday’s appalling diver-
sion of the Ryanair jet and Protasevich’s ar-
rest when he landed. The autocratic rulers
couldn’t find any other way. It’s the same ba-
sic story as the October 2018 murder of dis-
sident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a
Washington Post contributing columnist, by a
hit team approved by Crown Prince Mo-
hammed bin Salman. Who appears desperate
and frightened in these attacks? It’s the thugs,
who can’t stop dissenters except by kidnap-
ping them.
Protasevich didn’t get on that flight from
Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, intend-
ing to be a martyr. He was a journalist living in
exile, traveling from one EU city to another.
But he was persisting in his job of running his
news channel, despite the wave of arrests
back home.
One American who has met with Protasev-
ich recently explained: “What I took away is
that he is committed to the integrity of the
journalistic profession. He’s willing to work in
the most dire situation. This isn’t just a hobby
for him. It’s a mission to provide information
direct to the people.”
The Russian response to the skyjacking
from Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria
Zakharova was cynical — but essential read-
ing. “It is shocking that the West calls the in-
cident in Belarusian airspace ‘shocking,’ ”
she wrote on Facebook. She cited the forced
landing in Austria in 2013 of a Bolivian jet
thought to be carrying NSA leaker Edward
Snowden. She could have mentioned other
cases where the U.S. tried to force down other
civilian flights that were believed to be carry-
ing terrorists.
There’s a battle taking place around the
world between autocratic leaders and young
activists who want the freedom to speak free-
ly. You can see it in Russia, China, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt — and scores of other
countries, most definitely including Belarus.
The Biden administration sees this as a
fight to maintain a rules-based order, instead
of lawless thugocracy. But if it wants to lead
this campaign, the United States can’t be hyp-
ocritical. Every bad thing we do as a nation
gets copied by nations with fewer scruples.
America wages drone warfare against al-Qia-
da; Azerbaijan wages it against Armenian
fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh; America con-
ducts “extraordinary rendition” of terrorist
suspects; Saudi Arabia and Belarus kidnap or
murder dissenting journalists.
President Joe Biden wants to contest the
authoritarians without a new Cold War. He
will set the stage when he meets Putin on June
16 in Geneva. Diplomatic sources say he wise-
ly dispensed with some baggage last week by
quietly granting a 90-day waiver on sanctions
that otherwise would have been imposed
against German companies for violating a
ban on aiding Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline.
Better to keep the focus on our adversaries,
rather than picking a fight with Germany, a
faithful ally. Here’s a suggestion for Biden
when he meets Putin. Wear red and white
socks, as a reminder of which side he’s on.
The barrier of fear is breaking in BelarusBY DAVID IGNATIUS
Washington Post Writers Group
“Why all the fuss?”
That is how retired
U.S. Army Col. Ralph
Puckett reacted when
he learned he was to receive the Medal of
Honor for his extraordinary bravery and ef-
fectiveness in combat during the Korean
War. The modesty befits the man, and re-
flects his selflessness, a distinctive human
virtue.
Memorial Day is a fitting time to honor
him, along with the men and women in our
military who gave their lives. This special
day originated shortly after our Civil War as
Decoration Day.
From the beginning, parades have been
an important feature. From ancient times,
surviving warriors are viewed as closely as-
sociated with comrades who died.
Col. Puckett may not be a “household
name” across America, but he is a legend-
ary and inspirational figure within the U.S.
Army. His extraordinary career highlights
the strong dedication military service can
develop, in distinctive ways.
The Korean War began in late June 1950
when North Korean forces invaded South
Korea. U.S. President Harry Truman im-
mediately decided to support the United
Nations effort to defeat the invasion. Presi-
dent Dwight Eisenhower achieved an armi-
stice in July 1953.
In late 1950, enormous numbers of the
People’s Liberation Army of China inter-
vened. The offensive surprised U.N. com-
mander Gen. Douglas MacArthur and staff,
and serious reversals followed.
This was the situation on the ground
when young 1st Lt. Puckett, in command of
the Eighth Army Ranger Company, was or-
dered to occupy Hill 205. They secured the
strategically important high ground but
were under heavy fire, and cut off.
Puckett’s leadership proved vital. He re-
peatedly exposed himself to enemy fire in
order to survey terrain and protect his men.
The Rangers held the hill against five
massive human wave attacks. Puckett ulti-
mately ordered his men to retreat from
what had become an untenable position.
Badly wounded, he told his men to leave
him. They refused to do so. For his actions in
that battle, he received the Distinguished
Service Cross, which has now been upgrad-
ed to the Medal of Honor.
During the Vietnam War, Puckett again
served in combat in command. He dis-
played comparable courage and leader-
ship.
On May 21, President Joe Biden awarded
Puckett the Medal of Honor at a ceremony
at the White House. In attendance was
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, who
was visiting Washington to meet with Bi-
den. This is the first time the leader of a for-
eign government has attended a Medal of
Honor ceremony.
Holding the ceremony during Moon’s vis-
it is admirable. That war forged the impor-
tant, enduring alliance between our two
peoples. The Korean War also transformed
the Cold War to a broadly global conflict.
As a very young man, Moon’s political ac-
tivism led to arrest and imprisonment. The
dictatorship of Park Chung-hee was merci-
less in punishing dissidence of any kind. Re-
flecting that experience, he decided to pur-
sue a career as a human rights lawyer.
This commitment to political activism
was balanced by dedication to military ser-
vice, going beyond what is required of
young men of military age in South Korea.
Moon also served in the Republic of Korea
(South Korea) Army. He joined the Special
Forces, and saw action in the DMZ (Demili-
tarized Zone) along the 38th Parallel that di-
vides North and South Korea.
South Korea maintained 50,000 troops in
South Vietnam during our long war there.
They reciprocated American help during
the Korean War.
Memorial Day is also an appropriate time
to reflect on the importance of those close
allies who aid us, in war and in peace.
Learn More: Ralph Puckett, “Ranger: A
Soldier’s Life.”
South Korea and the US: A hero’s exampleBY ARTHUR I. CYR
Special to Stars and Stripes
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at CarthageCollege and author of “After the Cold War — American ForeignPolicy, Europe and Asia.”
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
ACROSS
1 Buddy
4 Worry
8 Chumps
12 Somewhat (Suff.)
13 Move, in
Realtor-speak
14 Military group
15 Lab compound
17 Video-streaming
brand
18 Pub pint
19 Discovered
21 Lustrous
24 Dead heat
25 Citric beverage
26 Society new-
comer
28 “Speed-the-
Plow” playwright
32 Evergreens
34 — de plume
36 Entice
37 Follow
39 “Uh-huh”
41 Command
to Rover
42 Vigor
44 Small beard
46 Theater seat
feature
50 Gun lobby org.
51 Justice
Sotomayor’s garb
52 Migraine
56 Mosque leader
57 Teen’s woe
58 Attila, notably
59 Church area
60 Spinning sound
61 Conceit
DOWN
1 Karaoke prop,
for short
2 Fire sign?
3 Scam artists
4 Chum
5 Fun and games
6 Mideast airline
7 Apartment sign
8 Dreamlike
9 Shortly
10 Toll road
11 Poker variety
16 Roman 1051
20 Goal
21 Ump’s call
22 Tennis score
23 Longing
27 Lad
29 Steve Harvey
facial feature
30 One of HOMES
31 Head, to Henri
33 Paramount
35 Jo’s sister
38 Shoe width
40 Think about
43 “Hogwash!”
45 Notre Dame’s
Parseghian
46 Met melody
47 Easy win
48 Many corp.
recruits
49 Georgia or Cal
53 Blackbird
54 Embrace
55 Rock’s Brian
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
oCarp
e D
iem
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
FACES
The elevator pitch for Zack Snyder’s “Army ofthe Dead” would read something like this: “28Days Later…” meets “Oceans 11.” But watch-
ing the film reveals more than a Las Vegas zombieheist thriller as layers of subtext emerge reflectingcurrent social issues.
Building a wall to contain people, detainmentcamps, quarantining those suspected of carrying thezombie virus, and political debate are just a few refer-ences that play a role in the story.
“I felt like to really do the genre correctly, socialcommentary is at its heart and at its roots,” said Snyd-er, who directed, co-wrote the screenplay and shot thefilm.
Known for his strong visual
style in blockbusters like “300”
and “Justice League,” it was a
zombie flick that Snyder cut his
teeth on as a director with the 2004
remake of “Dawn of the Dead.”
He credits the film’s original di-
rector, George A. Romero, with
using the undead to tell more than
just a scary story. “Romero really
took the zombie genre and made
great social commentary,” Snyder
said.
Romero’s 1968 cult classic
“Night of the Living Dead” — and
subsequent films in the series —
tackled a barrage of issues includ-
ing, racism, nuclear war and con-
sumerism.
In “Army of the Dead,” a wall
built around Las Vegas to contain
the zombie outbreak keeps that
tradition alive, mirroring the de-
bate over building a wall at the
U.S. southern border.
“We were building a wall. We
were creating these refugee
camps,” Snyder said. “We needed
to kind of use those things to hold
up a mirror to ourselves.”
Yet, the wall motif did not begin
as a political statement. Snyder
claims it was more a function of
the plot to keep the zombies in one
place until the social implications
emerged.
“Once you erect a giant wall
around a city, you really find your-
self referencing all kinds of laws
that have been created for all dif-
ferent reasons. And I think your
awareness of those things really is
important,” Snyder said.
For German actor Matthias
Schweighofer, that element of the
story touched a nerve.
“I was born behind a wall in the
east of Germany and the wall
came down and I always thought
as I traveled through the world, ‘I
don’t want a wall back in my life. I
don’t want any borders back,’” he
said.
In the film, the zombies are
“contained” in Las Vegas so the
military can drop a low-level nu-
clear bomb to rid the world of the
threat. A rich businessman,
played by Japanese actor Hiroyu-
ki Sanada, offers a team of merce-
naries a sizable fortune if they can
retrieve $200 million in a casino
vault.
Schweighofer plays a safe-
cracker alongside Omari Hard-
wicke. Other members of the team
who venture into the zombie-in-
fested quarantine zone include
“Narcos” actor Ana de la Reguera,
the multi-hyphenated Tig Notaro
and Dave Bautista.
Bautista called working on the
film the most fun he’d ever had on
any project, and he was equally
impressed with how Snyder ad-
dressed some of the issues we face
as a society.
The former WWE superstar
never thought much about the
zombie trope, until Snyder point-
ed out that they are people
stripped of their humanity “feed-
ing off of other human beings.”
“They just have no humanity
left. And I thought, ‘Man, that’s re-
ally terrifying.’ But also, like,
‘God, what a message. What a
metaphor,’” Bautista said.
But these are not your father’s
zombies. They’re faster, smarter
and organized, making the mis-
sion far more dangerous than
what you might see on “The Walk-
ing Dead.”
The film also stars Theo Rossi,
Huma Qureshi and Nora Arnezed-
er. While the zombies clearly rep-
resent a segment of society devoid
of humanity, it was the inclusive
nature of the team that made the
biggest impact for Bautista.
“If you really read into it, you’d
see a bunch of people who are
from all over the world of very dif-
ferent colors who are kind of
banding together just to survive,”
Bautista said.
“Army of the Dead,” in theaters
now, also is streaming on Netflix.
CHRIS PIZZELLO, INVISION/AP
Director Zack Snyder poses May 7 for a portrait on a virtual production stage featuring an apocalyptic LasVegas background to promote his new film “Army of the Dead” in El Segundo, Calif.
Blending gore with metaphorZack Snyder mixes social commentaryinto zombie movie ‘Army of the Dead’
BY JOHN CARUCCI
Associated Press
Angelina Jolie criticized a judge
who is deciding on child custody in
her divorce with Brad Pitt, saying
in a court filing that the judge re-
fused to allow their children to tes-
tify.
Jolie, who has sought to disqual-
ify Judge John Ouderkirk from
the divorce case, said in the filing
Monday that he declined to hear
evidence she says is relevant to
the children’s safety and well-be-
ing before issuing a tentative rul-
ing. The documents don’t elabo-
rate on what that evidence may be.
“Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms.
Jolie a fair trial, improperly ex-
cluding her evidence relevant to
the children’s health, safety, and
welfare, evidence critical to mak-
ing her case,” according to the fil-
ing in California’s Second District
Court of Appeal.
Jolie sought a divorce in 2016,
days after a disagreement broke
out on private flight ferrying the
actors and their children from
France to Los Angeles. Pitt was
accused of being abusive toward
his then-15-year-old son during
the flight, but investigations by
child welfare officials and the FBI
were closed with no charges being
filed against the actor. Jolie’s at-
torney said at the time that she
sought a divorce “for the health of
the family.”
Jolie, 45, and Pitt, 57, were
among Hollywood’s most promi-
nent couples for 12 years. They
had been married for two years
when Jolie filed for divorce.
They were declared divorced in
April 2019, after their lawyers
asked for a judgment that allowed
a married couple to be declared
single while other issues re-
mained, including finances and
child custody.
Fox making news shows
available to streamFox News is now making Tuck-
er Carlson, Sean Hannity and Lau-
ra Ingraham available to watch 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
The company said Tuesday that
it will begin offering subscribers
to its streaming service — Fox Na-
tion — reruns of the three prime-
time programs on Fox News
Channel starting the day after
they air.
Although Fox Nation currently
offers audio-only versions of these
programs, this makes it the first
time the streaming service will of-
fer full Fox News television shows
on its platform. The shows will be-
come available starting June 2.
Other news■ The Nielsen company’s latest
rankings of popular television and
streaming shows have one thing in
common — “NCIS” at the top. The
CBS drama starring Mark Har-
mon as a Naval Criminal Investi-
gative Service special agent has
been on the air since 2003 and de-
fines unhip. Yet the 8.7 million
people who watched last Tues-
day’s episode was a bigger audi-
ence than anything else in prime-
time television last week, Nielsen
said. The company also measures
streaming audiences, although its
reports lag behind the television
ratings. Its most recent week
available was April 19-25, and an
estimated 890 million minutes of
“NCIS” reruns were streamed on
Netflix that week.
■ Disney’s iconic “Winnie the
Pooh”will travel from the forest to
find a home off-Broadway this fall.
“Winnie the Pooh: The New Musi-
cal Adaptation” opens Oct. 21 at
Time Square’s Theater Row.
Jolie criticizes judge for not letting children testify in custody caseAssociated Press
Jolie Pitt
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
SCOREBOARD/SPORTS BREIFS
PRO BASKETBALL
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct GB
New York 5 1 .833 —
Connecticut 5 1 .833 —
Chicago 2 2 .500 2
Atlanta 2 2 .500 2
Washington 2 3 .400 2½
Indiana 1 5 .167 4
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct GB
Seattle 4 1 .800 —
Las Vegas 2 2 .500 1½
Phoenix 2 2 .500 1½
Dallas 1 2 .333 2
Minnesota 0 3 .000 3
Los Angeles 0 2 .000 2½
Tuesday’s games
Washington 85, Indiana 69Atlanta 90, Chicago 83Seattle 90, Connecticut 87, OT
Wednesday’s games
Las Vegas at PhoenixThursday’s games
Dallas at AtlantaFriday’s games
Washington at ConnecticutLos Angeles at ChicagoMinnesota at SeattleIndiana at Las Vegas
PRO SOCCER
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
New England 4 1 2 14 10 7
Orlando City 3 0 3 12 7 2
Philadelphia 3 2 2 11 6 5
Nashville 2 0 4 10 7 4
Atlanta 2 1 3 9 7 5
NYCFC 2 2 2 8 11 6
CF Montréal 2 3 2 8 9 9
Columbus 2 2 2 8 5 5
Inter Miami CF 2 3 2 8 8 10
New York 2 4 0 6 8 9
D.C. United 2 5 0 6 5 11
Toronto FC 1 3 2 5 7 10
Chicago 1 4 1 4 4 10
Cincinnati 1 3 1 4 6 14
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 5 0 2 17 14 3
Sporting KC 4 2 1 13 12 8
LA Galaxy 4 2 0 12 10 11
Houston 3 2 2 11 9 9
Colorado 3 2 1 10 9 8
Portland 3 3 0 9 9 8
San Jose 3 4 0 9 11 11
Real Salt Lake 2 1 2 8 8 6
LAFC 2 2 2 8 7 7
Vancouver 2 4 1 7 6 9
Austin FC 2 4 0 6 5 8
Minnesota 2 4 0 6 5 10
FC Dallas 1 2 3 6 8 8
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Saturday, May 22
Cincinnati 2, CF Montréal 1Portland 3, LA Galaxy 0Chicago 1, Miami 0Orlando City 1, Toronto FC 0Columbus 2, New York City FC 1New England 3, New York 1Real Salt Lake 2, FC Dallas 2, tieHouston 2, Vancouver 1Sporting Kansas City 3, San Jose 1Los Angeles FC 2, Colorado 1
Sunday, May 23
Atlanta 1, Seattle 1, tiePhiladelphia 1, D.C. United 0Nashville 1, Austin FC 0
Saturday’s games
CF Montréal at ChicagoOrlando City at New YorkNew England at CincinnatiToronto FC at ColumbusNashville at AtlantaNew York City FC at Los Angeles FCSan Jose at LA GalaxyD.C. United at MiamiHouston at Sporting Kansas CityFC Dallas at ColoradoMinnesota at Real Salt Lake
Sunday’s games
Portland at PhiladelphiaAustin FC at Seattle
TENNIS
Strasbourg InternationalTuesday
At Strasbourg, FrancePurse: Euro 189,708Surface: Red clayWomen’s Singles
Round of 32Jule Niemeier, Germany, def. Diane Par-
ry, France, 6-4, 6-3.Arantxa Rus, Netherlands, def. Jessica
Pegula (2), United States, 6-4, 6-4.Shelby Rogers (7), United States, def.
Christina McHale, United States, 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-5.
Harmony Tan, France, def. Alison vanUytvanck, Belgium, 6-4, 6-4.
Round of 16Bianca Andreescu (1), Canada, def. Ma-
ryna Zanevska, Belgium, 6-1, 6-4.Magda Linette (8), Poland, def. Alize Cor-
net, France, 7-6 (2), 3-0, ret.Women’s Doubles
Round of 16Renata Voracova, Czech Republic, and
Miyu Kato, Japan, def. Jessika Ponchet andEstelle Cascino, France, 6-3, 6-3.
Elixane Lechemia, France, and IngridNeel, United States, def. Sabrina Santama-ria and Kaitlyn Christian, U.S., 6-2, 6-0.
Zhang Shuai and Xu Yifan (4), China, def.Clara Burel and Diane Parry, France, 7-5,7-6 (4).
QuarterfinalsZhaoxuan Yang, China, and Makoto Ni-
nomiya, Japan, def. Latisha Chan and Hao-Ching Chan (2), Taiwan, 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.
to May 23. Signed OF Jorge Bonifacio to aminor league contract.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Recalled RHPCody Ponce from Indianapolis (Triple-AEast). Optioned RHP Kyle Keller to Indiana-polis.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Recalled 1BJohn Nogowski from Memphis (Triple-AEast). Placed CF Harrison Bader on the 10-day IL. Sent LHP Andrew Miller to Memphis(Triple-A East) on a rehab assignment.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS — RecalledINF Luis Garcia from Rochester (Triple-AEast).
FOOTBALLNational Football League
NBA — Fined Dallas F Kristaps Porzings$50,000 for violating league rules.
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Signed CB TayGowan and OLB Victor Dimukeje to fouryear contracts. Signed TE Ross Travis.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Signed OT AlexLeatherwood. Waived OT Kamaal Sey-mour.
NEW YORK GIANTS — Signed OLB Eler-son Smith.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Signed DT Wil-lie Henry. Waived LB Joe Bachie.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed RB Na-jee Harris and TE Pat Freiermuth to four-year contracts.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed OLBElerson Smith. Announced C Weston Rich-burg is retiring.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Signed TE CamSutton to a contract.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Re-signedWR Antonio Brown. Signed CB Dee Dela-ney.
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM —Signed TE Ricky Seals-Jones.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
NHL — Fined Tampa Bay F Pat Maroon$3,879.31 for unsportsmanlike conductduring a May 24 game against Florida.Fined Tampa Bay D Ryan McDonagh $5,000for cross-checking Florida F MasonMarchment during a May 24 game againstFlorida.
COLORADO AVALANCHE — Assigned FTravis Barron to Utah (ECHL).
Tuesday's transactionsBASEBALL
American LeagueBOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated INF
Christian Arroyo from 10-day IL.CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Sent CF Adam
Engel to Charlotte (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment.
CLEVELAND INDIANS — Agreed to termswith RHP Kevin Herget on a minor leaguecontract.
HOUSTON ASTROS — Signed RHP JonOlczak to a minor league contract.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Activated SSAdalberto Mondesi from the 10-day IL.
NEW YORK YANKEES — Placed 2B D.J. Le-Mahieu on the paternity list.
TEXAS RANGERS — Placed RHP Kyle Gib-son on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 22.Placed RHP Hunter Wood on the 10-day IL,retroactive to May 23. Recalled LHP WesBenjamin and RHP Demarcus Evans fromRound Rock (Triple-A West).
National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Recalled
RHP Jon Duplantier from Reno (Triple-AWest). Placed RHP Taylor Widener on the10-day IL, retroactive to May 24.
CHICAGO CUBS — Designated RHP JasonAdam for assignment. Placed 3B Matt Duf-fy on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 23.Selected the contract of 3B Patrick Wis-dom from Iowa (Triple-A East).
COLORADO ROCKIES — Activated LHPKyle Freeland from the 10-day IL. OptionedLHP Lucas Gilbreath to Albuquerque (Tri-ple-A West).
MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Claimed RFJake Hager off waivers from New YorkMets. Optioned RF Jake Hager and OF Ty-rone Taylor to Nashville (Triple-A East).Activated RHP Eric Yardley from 10-day IL.
NEW YORK METS — Activated RHP JacobdeGrom from the 10-day IL. Placed RHPJordan Yamamoto on the 10-day IL, retro-active tp May 24. Acquired OF Billy McKin-ney from Milwaukee in exchange for LHPPedro Quintana. Transfered RHP JordanYamamoto to the 60-day IL.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Activated CFRoman Quinn from the 10-day IL. Placed RFBryce Harper on the 10-day IL, retroactive
DEALS
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
NCAA Division I Super Regionals(Best-of-three; x-if necessary)
Host school is home team for Game 1;visiting school is home team for Game 2;coin flip determines home team for Game3
At Norman, Okla.Oklahoma vs. Washington
Friday: Oklahoma (48-2) vs. Washington(45-12)
Saturday: Oklahoma vs. Washingtonx-Sunday: Oklahoma vs. Washington
At Tuscaloosa, Ala.Alabama vs. Kentucky
Friday: Alabama (48-7) vs. Kentucky (43-14)
Saturday: Alabama vs. Kentuckyx-Sunday: Alabama vs. Kentucky
At Columbia, Mo.Missouri vs. James Madison
Friday: Missouri (41-15) vs. James Madi-son (37-1)
Saturday: Missouri vs. James Madisonx-Sunday: Missouri vs. James Madison
At Fayetteville, Ark.Arkansas vs. Arizona
Friday: Arkansas (43-9) vs. Arizona (39-13)
Saturday: Arkansas vs. Arizonax-Sunday: Arkansas vs. Arizona
At Stillwater, Okla.Oklahoma St. vs. Texas
Friday: Oklahoma St. (45-9) vs. Texas(42-12)
Saturday: Oklahoma St. vs. Texasx-Sunday: Oklahoma St. vs. Texas
At Baton RougeLSU vs. Florida St.
Friday: LSU (35-20) vs. Florida St. (42-10-1)
Saturday: LSU vs. Florida St.x-Sunday: LSU vs. Florida St.
At Gainesville, Fla.Florida vs. Georgia
Friday: Florida (45-9) vs. Georgia (32-21)Saturday: Florida vs. Georgiax-Sunday: Florida vs. Georgia
At Los AngelesUCLA vs. Virginia Tech
Friday: UCLA (44-4) vs. Virginia Tech (36-13)
Saturday: UCLA vs. Virginia Techx-Sunday: UCLA vs. Virginia Tech
COLLEGE BASEBALL
USA Today Coaches PollThe USA TODAY Sports Top 25 baseballpoll, with team's records through Sundayin parentheses, total points based on 25for first place through one point for 25th,ranking in last week's poll and first-placevotes received:
Record Pts Pvs
1. Arkansas (32) 42-10 800 1
2. Texas 40-13 746 3
3. Vanderbilt 39-13 736 2
4. Tennessee 42-14 695 4
5. Texas Tech 35-13 634 5
6. Mississippi State 40-13 621 6
7. Arizona 38-14 602 10
8. Notre Dame 29-10 577 9
9. Oregon 35-13 498 7
10. East Carolina 38-13 474 11
11. Mississippi 38-17 467 12
12. Stanford 31-13 452 15
13. Florida 35-19 427 8
14. TCU 36-16 360 13
15. UC Irvine 36-16 239 22
16. Southern Miss 35-17 230 17
17. NC State 28-15 215 24
18. Gonzaga 32-15 210 20
19. Charlotte 39-17 201 19
20. Louisiana Tech 36-16 200 14
21. Old Dominion 38-14 133 25
22. Florida State 29-21 111 16
23. Arizona State 32-17 110 —
24. South Carolina 33-20 106 18
25. Nebraska 29-11 104 —
Dropped out: No. 21 UCLA (32-18); No. 23Louisville (27-21).
Others receiving votes: Liberty (37-12)66; UCLA (32-18) 58; Miami (32-17) 55; Okla-homa State (32-16) 54; Georgia Tech (28-21) 34; Fairfield (35-1) 31; Louisville (27-21)19; UC Santa Barbara (35-18) 19; LSU (34-21) 17; Oregon State (33-20) 17; WrightState (32-11) 13; Michigan (26-15) 12; Dal-las Baptist (33-15) 11; Connecticut (30-16)9; Grand Canyon (36-19) 7; Maryland (26-15) 7; Virginia (27-22) 5; Campbell (33-14) 4;VCU (34-14) 4; Northeastern (32-9) 3; SanDiego (31-11) 2; Wofford (35-19) 2; CentralMichigan (36-16) 1; Indiana (24-16) 1; USCUpstate (37-14) 1.
AP SPORTLIGHT
May 27
1823 — A $20,000 match race betweenAmerican Eclipse (representing TheNorth) and Henry (representing TheSouth) is held at Union Course, Long Is-land, N.Y. American Eclipse wins in two-of-three heats, after his original jockey, Wil-liam Crafts, is replaced by Samuel Purdybefore the second heat. The race, wit-nessed by 60,000 spectators, is the first tohave been timed by split-second chro-nometers, which were imported for theevent.
1873 — Survivor is the winner of the firstPreakness Stakes.
1975 — The Philadelphia Flyers win theirsecond straight Stanley Cup with a 2-0 vic-tory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Fal-
cons began their offseason train-
ing program Tuesday without
longtime star receiver Julio Jones,
who apparently has no intention of
returning to a rebuilding team
that is still struggling to get under
the salary cap.
Rookie coach Arthur Smith was
tight-lipped about the Falcons’ op-
tions, but insisted that he doesn’t
begrudge Jones for making public
his desire to play elsewhere.
“We encourage our players to
speak for themselves,” Smith said
during an interview session dom-
inated by questions about Jones’
future. “We’ve had multiple pri-
vate conversations with our play-
ers. Those conversations will re-
main private on my end.”
After plenty of questions about
the seven-time Pro Bowler who,
along with Matt Ryan, has been
the face of the franchise for the
past decade, Jones brought the sit-
uation to a head in a brief inter-
view Monday with former NFL
star Shannon Sharpe.
“I’m outta there,” Jones told the
host of “Undisputed” on FS1.
When asked where he wants to
play, the 32-year-old replied,
“Right now, I wanna win.”
That seems unlikely with the
Falcons, who are coming off their
third straight losing season. Atlan-
ta fired coach Dan Quinn and gen-
eral manager Thomas Dimitroff
after an 0-5 start to a year that end-
ed at 4-12.
Smith and new general manag-
er Terry Fontenot have made it
clear that all options are on the ta-
ble as they attempt to rebuild the
roster and deal with troublesome
salary cap limitations, which
could be eased greatly by trading
Jones.
Japan newspaper calls
for Olympic cancellationTOKYO — Japan’s Asahi Shim-
bun newspaper on Wednesday
called for the Tokyo Olympics to
be canceled with the games set to
open in less than two months.
It is the first of Japan’s major
newspapers to make the move and
joins some regional newspapers
that have recently added to the
growing opposition to holding the
Olympics.
Coming out against the Olym-
pics could be significant since the
newspaper, like many in Japan, is
a sponsor of the postponed Tokyo
Games that are scheduled to open
on July 23. Asahi is typically liber-
al-leaning and often opposes the
ruling party led by Prime Minister
Yoshihide Suga.
“We cannot think it’s rational to
host the Olympics in the city this
summer,” the newspaper said in
its editorial under a headline that
read: “We Demand PM Suga De-
cide Cancellation.”
“Distrust and backlash against
the reckless national government,
Tokyo government and stakehold-
ers in the Olympics are nothing
but escalating,” the editorial add-
ed. “We demand Prime Minister
Suga to calmly evaluate the cir-
cumstances and decide the can-
cellation of the summer event.”
Asahi has a morning circulation
reported at 5.16 million, and 1.55
million for its evening edition. It is
second in circulation behind Yo-
miuri Shimbun, and subsequently
is the second largest circulating
newspaper in the world behind
Yomiuri.
Senior Bowl, NFL
to hold HBCU combineMOBILE, Ala. — The Senior
Bowl and the NFL will hold a pre-
draft combine for top prospects
from Historically Black College
and Universities next January.
The inaugural HBCU combine,
scheduled for Jan. 28-29 in 2022,
will be similar to the NFL combine
with interviews and on-field and
medical evaluations.
It will be held at the University
of South Alabama and feature se-
lect players from four HBCU con-
ferences — the Southwestern Ath-
letic Conference, the Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference, the Southern
Intercollegiate Athletic Confer-
ence and the Central Intercolle-
giate Athletic Conference — and
other HBCU institutions.
The first scheduled HBCU com-
bine was postponed because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
An HBCU Scouting Committee,
comprised of current and former
league executives, will evaluate
and select the participants. The
Senior Bowl will provide medical
and football personnel to collect
pre-draft information.
The game is scheduled for Feb.
5, 2022.
No HBCU players were drafted
in 2021, and the only one picked in
2020 went in the seventh round.
BRIEFLY
Falcons’ Smithtight-lipped aboutWR Jones’ future
Associated Press
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
NBA PLAYOFFS
Playoffs
PlayinPlayin First RoundEastern Conference
Tuesday, May 18Indiana 144, Charlotte 117Boston 118, Washington 100
Western ConferenceWednesday, May 19
Memphis 100, San Antonio 96L.A. Lakers 103, Golden State 100
Playin Second RoundEastern Conference
Thursday, May 20Washington 142, Indiana 115
Western ConferenceFriday, May 21
Memphis 117, Golden State 112 (OT)First Round
(Bestofseven)xif necessary
Eastern ConferencePhiladelphia 1,Washington 0
Philadelphia 125, Washington 118Wednesday: at PhiladelphiaSaturday: at Washington Monday: at Washington xWednesday, June 2: at Philadelphia xFriday, June 4: at Washington xSunday, June 6: at Philadelphia
Brooklyn 2, Boston 0Brooklyn 104, Boston 93Tuesday: �Brooklyn 130, Boston 108Friday: �at BostonSunday: �at BostonxTuesday, June 1: at BrooklynxThursday, June 3: at BostonxSaturday, June 5: �at Brooklyn
Milwaukee 2, Miami 0Milwaukee 109, Miami 107 (OT)Milwaukee 132, Miami 98Thursday: �at MiamiSaturday: �at MiamixTuesday, June 1: �at Milwaukee xThursday, June 3: �at Miami xSaturday, June 5: �at Milwaukee
Atlanta 1, New York 0Atlanta 107, �New York 105Wednesday: �at New YorkFriday: at AtlantaSunday: at AtlantaxWednesday, June 2: at New York xFriday, June 4: at AtlantaxSunday, June 6: at New York
Western ConferenceMemphis 1, Utah 0
Memphis 112, �Utah 109Wednesday: at UtahSaturday: at MemphisMonday: at MemphisxWednesday, June 2: at UtahxFriday, June 4: at MemphisxSunday, June 6: at Utah
Phoenix 1, �L.A. Lakers 1Phoenix 99, L.A. Lakers 90Tuesday: L.A. Lakers 109, Phoenix 102Thursday: at L.A. LakersSunday: at L.A. LakersTuesday, June 1: at Phoenix xThursday, June 3: at L.A. Lakers xSaturday, June 5: �at Phoenix
Portland 1, Denver 1Portland 123, Denver 109Denver 128, Portland 109Thursday: at PortlandSaturday: at PortlandTuesday, June 1: at Denver xThursday, June 3: at Portland xSaturday, June 5: at Denver
Dallas 2, L.A. Clippers �0Dallas 113, �L.A. Clippers 103Tuesday: �Dallas 127, L.A. Clippers 121Friday: �at DallasSunday: �at DallasxWednesday, June 2: �at L.A. Clippers xFriday, June 4: �at Dallas xSunday, June 6: �at L.A. Clippers
ScoreboardNEW YORK — Brooklyn is
more than just its Big Three.
There’s also Joe Harris and his
threes.
Even if a team can contain Ke-
vin Durant, Kyrie Irving and
James Harden, it still has to stop
the NBA’s most accurate three-
point shooter.
That’s a lot of problems to solve,
and Harris understands why
teams don’t make him the priority.
“I think it’s just sort of, this is the
reality of the matter,” Harris said.
“I mean, we have three of the best
offensive players that really have
ever played.”
Harris tied a franchise playoff
record with seven three-pointers,
Durant scored 26 points and the
Nets routed the Boston Celtics 130-
108 on Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead
in their first-round playoff series.
Harris had a career playoff-high
25 points and Harden added 20 as
Brooklyn unleashed its lethal of-
fense after winning Game 1 large-
ly with defense.
“Different games it’s going to be
different guys,” Harden said. “To-
night it was Joe, next game, Game
3 it could be somebody else. So
we’re just all locked in, we’re all on
the same page and whatever it
takes to win, we’re willing to do.”
Game 3 is Friday in Boston,
where the Nets will attempt to
build on their first 2-0 lead in a se-
ries since they swept the New
York Knicks in the first round in
2004.
This one might be headed to-
ward the same result, with the Cel-
tics unable to do much scoring in
Game 1 or stop Brooklyn from do-
ing tons of it in Game 2.
“We’ve got to be way better,”
coach Brad Stevens said, listing a
number of defensive problems
Boston has to address.
“They exposed that because
they were really good, but I was
disappointed in how we played
versus the other night.”
Marcus Smart scored 19 points
and Kemba Walker had 17 for the
Celtics. Leading scorer Jayson Ta-
tum had only nine points on 3-
for-12 shooting before leaving af-
ter just 21 minutes when he was
poked in the right eye.
After the Nets scored just 16
points in the first quarter of Game
1, Harris had that by himself in the
opening quarter of this one while
going 4-for-4 behind the arc.
Brooklyn had started slowly in
Game 1 and in the only game its
Big Three played together late in
the regular season, and on Mon-
day coach Steve Nash said he
thought it might be a while before
his three stars could walk on the
court and be firing on all cylinders.
It was only a day later for Har-
ris, who led the NBA in three-point
percentage at 47.5% this season.
Harris made three straight
three-pointers to extend a three-
point lead to 25-13 and there was a
little gasp from the crowd when he
then stole the ball and dribbled
down on a breakaway, as if he
might pull up behind the arc. In-
stead, he went all the way for the
layup and a 14-point lead.
It was 40-26 after one period and
Harden made consecutive threes
to open the second.
Nets get 7 threesfrom Harris, routCeltics for 2-0 lead
BY BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
PHOENIX — The Los Angeles
Lakers were reeling late in the
fourth quarter on Tuesday night.
The Phoenix Suns had made a
big run, their home crowd was in
a frenzy and the defending NBA
champions were in danger of go-
ing down two games to none in
the first round.
LeBron James and Anthony
Davis weren’t about to let that
happen.
James made a turnaround 18-
foot jumper, Davis followed with
a three-pointer and the Lakers
held on for a hard-fought 109-102
win over the Suns in Game 2 of
the playoff series.
“This was a must win,” Davis
said. “We all came out with that
mindset and we were able to get
the job done.”
It was a big bounce-back game
for Los Angeles, and especially
Davis, who struggled in Game 1
and took personal responsibility
for the team’s 99-90 loss on Sun-
day. His crucial three-pointer
with 2:15 left on Tuesday put his
team up 98-92 and ended a late
Phoenix rally.
Davis made 18 of 21 free
throws and added 10 rebounds
and seven assists. James added
23 points and nine assists.
“Those are two of the top five
players in the NBA,” Lakers
coach Frank Vogel said. “We
have a formula where those guys
carry a big load, especially at
crunch time.”
James said he wasn’t sur-
prised Davis bounced back
quickly. He said the team made it
a point to get him involved as
much as possible.
“Get him the ball early, often
and always,” James said. “It’s
that simple.”
Game 3 is on Thursday in Los
Angeles and the team suddenly
has a lot of momentum.
“That’s what I came here for,”
James said. “To be able to play a
playoff game in front of the Lak-
ers faithful.”
Devin Booker led the Suns
with 31 points and made all 17 of
his free throws. DeAndre Ayton
had 22 points, 10 rebounds and
shot 11-for-13 from the field.
ROSS D. FRANKLIN/AP
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton dunks against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis during thesecond half of the Lakers’ 109102 win Tuesday in Phoenix in Game 2 of a firstround playoff series.
Davis, Lakers bounce backto beat Suns in Game 2
BY DAVID BRANDT
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A familiar
face sat behind the Dallas Maver-
icks’ bench. Dirk Nowitzki, who
led the franchise to its only cham-
pionship in 2011 during his 21 sea-
sons, came to see his old franchise
that hasn’t won a playoff series
since its title.
Led by Luka Doncic, this edition
is looking pretty good.
“I certainly believe him being
there tonight was a lucky charm
for us,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle
said.
Doncic scored 39 points, Tim
Hardaway Jr. added 28 and Dallas
again outshot the NBA’s best
three-point team in a 127-121 victo-
ry over the Los Angeles Clippers
on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead
in the first-round playoff series.
“We can’t rest,” Hardaway said.
“We know what they’re capable
of.”
Kristaps Porzingis added 20
points and Maxi Kleber had 13.
Hardaway hit a playoff career-
high six three-pointers and Doncic
had five as the fifth-seeded Mavs
were 18-for-34 from long-range.
They made 17 three-pointers in
winning Game 1 on Saturday.
“The mentality was, go out
there, play aggressive, have fun,”
Doncic said.
The fourth-seeded Clippers
were led by Kawhi Leonard, who
scored 30 of his 41 in the first half.
Doncic, Mavs go up 2-0 on ClippersBY BETH HARRIS
Associated Press
MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP
Mavericks guard Luka Doncichad 39 points in his team’s winTuesday at Los Angeles.
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
NHL PLAYOFFS
First round
(Best-of-seven; x-if necessary)
Carolina 3, Nashville 2
Carolina 5, Nashville 2Carolina 3, Nashville 0Nashville 5, Carolina 4, 2OTNashville 4, Carolina 3, 2OTTuesday: Carolina 3, Nashville 2, OTThursday: Carolina at Nashvillex-Saturday: Nashville at Carolina
Tampa Bay 3, Florida 2
Tampa Bay 5, Florida 4Tampa Bay 3, Florida 1Florida 6, Tampa Bay 5, OTTampa Bay 6, Florida 2Florida 4, Tampa Bay 1Wednesday: Florida at Tampa Bayx-Friday: Tampa Bay at Florida
Boston 4, Washington 1
Washington 3, Boston 2, OTBoston 4, Washington 3, OTBoston 3, Washington 2, 2OTBoston 4, Washington 1Boston 3, Washington 1
N.Y. Islanders 3, Pittsburgh 2
N.Y. Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 3, OTPittsburgh 2, N.Y. Islanders 1Pittsburgh 5, N.Y. Islanders 4N.Y. Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 1N.Y. Islanders 3, Pittsburgh 2, 2OTWednesday: Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islandersx-Friday: N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh
Toronto 3, Montreal 1
Montreal 2, Toronto 1Toronto 5, Montreal 1Toronto 2, Montreal 1Tuesday: Toronto 4, Montreal 0Thursday: Montreal at Torontox-Saturday: Toronto at Montrealx-Monday: Montreal at Toronto
Winnipeg 4, Edmonton 0
Winnipeg 4, Edmonton 1Winnipeg 1, Edmonton 0, OTWinnipeg 5, Edmonton 4, OTWinnipeg 4, Edmonton 3, 3OT
Vegas 3, Minnesota 2
Minnesota 1, Vegas 0, OTVegas 3, Minnesota 1Vegas 5, Minnesota 2Vegas 4, Minnesota 0Minnesota 4, Vegas 2Wednesday: Vegas at Minnesotax-Friday: Minnesota at Vegas
Colorado 4, St. Louis 0
Colorado 4, St. Louis 1Colorado 6, St. Louis 3Colorado 5, St. Louis 1Colorado 5, St. Louis 2
ScoreboardMONTREAL — Alex Galcheny-
uk had plenty of memorable nights
inside the Bell Centre. His latest
standout performance pushed his
former team to the brink of playoff
elimination.
Galchenyuk set up two goals and
scored into the empty net against his
former team, Jack Campbell made
32 saves in his first playoff shutout,
and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat
the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on
Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in their
first-round series.
“It’s the playoffs, man,” Galche-
nyuk said when asked if he still
speaks with anyone on the other
team. “You know what time it is
right now.
“There’s no friends.”
Galchenyuk was a healthy
scratch in Game 1 before coming in-
to the lineup when captain John Ta-
vares was injured in a scary colli-
sion.
“Whatever role our team asks
him to play, he comes in and does it
tremendously,” said Campbell. “It’s
not easy to come in and out of the li-
neup, but whenever he’s in, he’s giv-
en us a spark.”
Jason Spezza had a goal and an as-
sist and William Nylander and Joe
Thornton also scored for Toronto,
which can wrap up the best-of-sev-
en series at home Thursday in
Game 5. Alexander Kerfoot had
three assists.
“Scoring, defending, checking, all
the way through the lineup, the guys
dug down,” said Maple Leafs head
coach Sheldon Keefe. “A lot of great
efforts all the way.”
Carey Price stopped 24 shots for
Montreal. The Canadiens have
scored just four times in 12 periods
against Campbell in the first playoff
series between the teams since 1979.
“We’re playing against another
team,” Montreal head coach Do-
minique Ducharme said. “If we
were going 5-on-0, we’d go up and
down the ice the way we want.”
The Leafs, who won consecutive
postseason games in Montreal for
the first time since the 1967 Stanley
Cup Final on the heels of Monday’s
2-1 victory, haven’t advanced to the
second round since 2004.
Toronto is 11-1 all-time when lead-
ing a series 3-1 — a situation the Ma-
ple Leafs haven’t found themselves
in since 1987.
If the Canadiens can force a
Game 6 in Montreal on Saturday,
the Quebec government will allow
2,500 fans into the Bell Centre,
which would be the first NHL crowd
in Canada since the start of the CO-
VID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Leafs blank Habs,take 3-1 series lead
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — Coach Rod Brind’Amour figured
the puck would eventually have to bounce the right
way for his Carolina Hurricanes.
Fittingly, his captain was ready when it did.
Jordan Staal scored off a rebound at 2:03 of overtime
to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 come-from-behind victory
over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, push-
ing Carolina to a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff se-
ries.
Staal was jostling for position just outside the crease
when Brett Pesce fired a shot toward Juuse Saros, who
made the stop and poked the puck forward. But Staal
batted it out of the air and past Saros into the net.
Staal gave a yell and immediately skated backward
with his arms outstretched until he reached the
boards, where his teammates mobbed him in front of a
roaring home crowd of 12,000.
“Not a whole lot of thoughts going through my mind
besides just wanting some bear hugs from the fellas,”
Staal said.
Staal’s score ended what was the third straight game
to go to extra time, with the Predators winning a pair of
grueling double-overtime contests in Games 3 and 4 in
the best-of-seven series. This one, however, moved the
Hurricanes within a win of closing it out and advancing
in the postseason.
They’ll get that chance on the road in Game 6 on
Thursday night.
Martin Necas scored twice for Carolina, which flirt-
ed with becoming the first team to lose on home ice in
the series. In addition to trailing midway through the
third period, it had a second-period goal disallowed af-
ter a Nashville challenge for goaltender interference.
“I think we got rewarded tonight,” Brind’Amour
said. “That’s the way I look at it. We finally got a
bounce, something that went our way that we really
haven’t had this series. So I think that was nice.”
Yakov Trenin scored twice to lead the Predators’ of-
fense. Saros finished with 34 saves after racking up 110
stops through the two double-overtime wins that knot-
ted the series at 2-2.
Once again, he repeatedly turned away clean looks
by the Hurricanes while his teammates clogged up
lanes to block shots or frustrate Carolina’s ability to get
traffic in front of Saros above the crease until Staal did
for the winner.
GERRY BROOME/AP
Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal, left, scores Tuesday against Nashville Predators goaltender JuuseSaros during overtime of Game 5 of the teams’ firstround playoff series in Raleigh, N.C.
Hurricane warningStaal lifts Carolina in overtime of Game 5
BY AARON BEARD
Associated Press
Knight at 20 became the youngest goalie
to start an elimination game and allowed a
goal on the first shot he faced in his NHL
playoff debut Monday night. Then he stop-
ped the next 36 to keep the Panthers alive
against the Lightning.
“I just approached it like I did every other
hockey game,” Knight said. “I was a little
nervous, but then I just kind of thought and
remembered it’s just playing hockey and I
just tried to control what I can and just have
fun.”
Knight left little doubt he would start
again for Florida in another elimination
game Wednesday. The same goes for Ne-
and put up 12 points in 30 games, so his two
playoff goals haven’t been a surprise.
Confidence is oozing from Panthers roo-
kie forwards Owen Tippett and Mason
Marchment, who have combined for six
points. Florida would be out of the playoffs
if not for the duo and Knight.
There are other rookies playing well, too:
Colorado’s Alex Newhook, who played the
entire first-round sweep of St. Louis, and
Montreal’s Cole Caufield, who won the Ho-
bey Baker Award as the best college player
in the country and played well in Game 3
against Toronto.
me, greatness is about longevity,” Trotz
said. “Sidney Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin
and those guys have been really good play-
ers and elite players for a decade, and Ilya
hasn’t proved it yet in the league, but it’s a
good start.”
Kaprizov, the likely Calder Trophy win-
ner as rookie of the year, had a rough start to
the playoffs. The young Russian winger had
just one assist to show for Minnesota’s first
four games against Vegas before scoring a
big goal Monday to help the Wild stay alive.
The polar opposite to Kaprizov’s hype,
Colton has played an outsized role for the
Lightning compared to expectations. He
stepped in during the season amid injuries
deljkovic in net for the Hurricanes, despite
the 25-year-old starting just 23 games dur-
ing the season.
Stopping 142 of 153 Nashville shots for a
2.13 goals-against average and .928 save
percentage through four games was more
than enough for Nedeljkovic to stay in net.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz wouldn’t
think of taking Sorokin out after he stopped
48 of 50 Pittsburgh shots in a double-over-
time victory in Game 5, though veteran Se-
myon Varlamov carried the team at times
during the regular season. Trotz isn’t ready
to crown Sorokin yet, despite a 1.66 GAA
and .951 save percentage.
“He’s played well in this series, (but) to AP sports writer Pat Graham contributed to this report.
Puck: Rookie goaltender helps Panthers stave off eliminationFROM PAGE 24
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
NFL/MLB
CHICAGO — No arguing this:
Cowboy Joe is No. 1 on the chart.
Joe West set baseball’s umpir-
ing record when the Chicago
White Sox beat the St. Louis Car-
dinals 8-3 on Tuesday night. West
was behind the plate for his
5,376th regular-season game,
snapping a tie with Hall of Famer
Bill Klem.
West, who reached the majors
in 1976 and turns 69 on Oct. 31, got
his picture taken with his crew
before the game started. He also
posed for photos with managers
Tony La Russa of the White Sox
and Mike Shildt of the Cardinals.
After the lineup cards were ex-
changed, St. Louis pitcher Adam
Wainwright walked to the plate to
shake West’s hand.
West was visited by baseball
Commissioner Rob Manfred, for-
mer Commissioner Peter Ueber-
roth and White Sox owner Jerry
Reinsdorf. The ump’s supporters
in the crowd included country
music singer Emmylou Harris
and former NBA center Mark
Eaton, a conspicuous 7-foot-4 fig-
ure in the postgame picture with
West surrounded by an eclectic
group of connections from his
long career.
“It was tough to hold back a
tear or two, but Tom Hanks said
there is no crying in baseball, so
you can’t do it,” West said, refer-
ring to Hanks’ iconic line in the
movie “A League of Their Own.”
“It was a very nice thing,” he
said.
The White Sox recognized
West’s achievement on the score-
board, and then showed a video
with country music star Garth
Brooks and some of West’s for-
mer and current umpiring col-
leagues offering their congratu-
lations. The crowd responded
with mostly boos.
The San Diego Chicken mascot
was on hand, too, presenting West
with flowers during the game.
The colorful West is perhaps
the most famous umpire in major
league history, known for his
memorable run-ins with several
players and managers over the
years, to go along with at least one
executive. West said he will de-
cide at the end of the season if he
wants to keep working as an um-
pire.
He also fashions himself as a
country music singer and song-
writer, leading to the nicknames
“Cowboy Joe” and “Country
Joe.” The Oak Ridge Boys, mem-
bers of the Country Music Hall of
Fame and friends with West,
sung the national anthem before
his record-breaking game.
West began his big league ca-
reer at age 23, doing a handful of
games in the last month of the
1976 season. His first plate job in-
cluded Hall of Fame knuckleball-
er Phil Niekro throwing to young
Braves catcher Dale Murphy.
He has worked the World Se-
ries six times. He has 193 career
ejections — and West himself has
run afoul of Major League Base-
ball on occasion during his long
career.
During a 1990 brawl, West
body-slammed pitcher Dennis
Cook to the ground. After he was
thrown out by West during a 2018
game, White Sox shortstop Tim
Anderson said: “I don’t have
much to say about him. Everybo-
dy knows he’s terrible.”
Last year, West ejected Wash-
ington Nationals general manag-
er Mike Rizzo from an upstairs
suite in Atlanta for yelling and
complaining.
West was suspended for three
days without pay in 2017 after he
said in an interview that former
Texas Rangers third baseman
Adrián Beltré was baseball’s big-
gest complainer. West said he
was joking, and Beltré agreed.
He was awarded $500,000 last
month in a defamation suit
against former catcher Paul Lo
Duca. In his suit, among other
things, West contended Lo Duca
made false allegations that would
hurt his chances of being elected
to the Hall of Fame. There are
currently 10 umpires in the Hall.
West also has his share of fans.
La Russa called West “very con-
sistent.”
“It’s richly deserved, earned, to
hold the record,” said the 76-
year-old La Russa, a Hall of Fam-
er. “I mean you have Joe calling
the game, bases, but especially
behind the plate, you’re going to
get an outstanding major league
job.”
At the 2017 All-Star Game,
slugger Nelson Cruz came to the
plate, pulled out his phone and
had catcher Yadier Molina take a
picture of Cruz and plate umpire
West. Asked why, Cruz said:
“He’s a legend, you know?”
CHARLES REX ARBOGAST / AP
Umpire Joe West, second from right, broke the record for most regularseason games called by a majorleague umpire with No. 5,376 on Tuesday when the St. Louis Cardinals played at the Chicago White Sox.
West breaks MLB umpiringrecord with 5,376th game
BY JAY COHEN
Associated Presss 5,376Regular-season games umpired by JoeWest, which tops the MLB list.1. Joe West — 5,376 (NL, 1976—1999;MLB, 2002—present)2. Bill Klem — 5,375 (NL, 1905—1941)3. Bruce Froemming — 5,163 (NL,1971—1999; ML, 2000—2007)
Source: MLB.com
Packers quarterback Aaron
Rodgers’ teammates say the
MVP’s uncertain status won’t dis-
tract them in their offseason
preparations.
Rodgers hasn’t been present
for organized team activities this
week following an ESPN report
last month that he doesn’t want to
return to Green Bay. Rodgers
was noncommittal about his fu-
ture in an ESPN interview Mon-
day night.
“I don’t think it’s going to be
that much of a distraction,” de-
fensive tackle Kenny Clark said
Tuesday. “We’ve got to control
what we can control as a team,
and we’ve just to come out, prac-
tice, handle business and play
ball. You know, we’ve got to leave
that situation to the organization
and Aaron.”
Rodgers wasn’t the only nota-
ble Packer missing from Tues-
day’s OTA session. Most of his re-
ceivers also weren’t there, in-
cluding All-Pro Davante Adams.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur
said he didn’t know whether it
might have been a coordinated ef-
fort by the receivers to stay away.
“I’ve had individual conversa-
tions with each guy, but never
once has that come up,” LaFleur
said.
The NFL Players’ Association
has advised players against at-
tending voluntary workouts
while citing the risks inherent
amid the pandemic.
Although Rodgers wasn’t
around, he still dominated dis-
cussions as Packers players
spoke to reporters Tuesday.
Many of the questions focused on
the issues Rodgers addressed in
the interview that ESPN aired
Monday night.
“Love the coaching staff, love
my teammates, love the fan base
in Green Bay,” Rodgers said in
the interview. “An incredible 16
years. It’s just kind of about a phi-
losophy and maybe forgetting
that it is about the people that
make the thing go. It’s about char-
acter, it’s about culture, it’s about
doing things the right way.
“A lot of this was put in motion
last year and the wrench was just
kind of thrown into it when I won
MVP and played the way I played
last year. This is just kind of, I
think, a spill-out of all that. But it
is about the people, and that’s the
most important thing.”
Rodgers went on to reference
Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi,
Bart Starr, Brett Favre, Reggie
White and Mike Holmgren while
talking about how “Green Bay
has always been about the peo-
ple.”
LaFleur declined to comment
on the issues Rodgers addressed
while reiterating his hopes to
have the three-time MVP back
this fall. General manager Brian
Gutekunst has said he has no
plans to trade Rodgers, who has
three years remaining on his con-
tract.
Safety Adrian Amos was cau-
tiously optimistic that Rodgers
will remain with the Packers.
“I haven’t heard him say any-
thing other than that, so I expect
him to be (back),” Amos said.
“But like I said, I’m not going to go
home and cry if something else
happens. I’m just playing it day
by day. But of course, you want
one of the greatest, if not the
greatest, quarterback ever on
your team. You want him out
here. But everybody has to go
about their business. I’m not go-
ing to knock anybody for getting
what they feel like they deserve.”
Packers suggestRodgers situationisn’t a distraction
BY STEVE MEGARGEE
Associated Press
JEFFREY PHELPS / AP
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and most of hisreceivers were missing from the team’s voluntary workout Tuesday.
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
MLB
American League
East Division
W L Pct GB
Tampa Bay 30 20 .600 _
Boston 29 20 .592 ½
New York 28 20 .583 1
Toronto 24 23 .511 4½
Baltimore 17 31 .354 12
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 28 19 .596 _
Cleveland 26 20 .565 1½
Kansas City 23 23 .500 4½
Minnesota 19 29 .396 9½
Detroit 18 30 .375 10½
West Division
W L Pct GB
Oakland 28 22 .560 _
Houston 26 22 .542 1
Seattle 23 26 .469 4½
Texas 22 28 .440 6
Los Angeles 21 27 .438 6
National LeagueEast Division
W L Pct GB
New York 22 20 .524 _
Atlanta 24 24 .500 1
Philadelphia 24 25 .490 1½
Miami 23 25 .479 2
Washington 20 24 .455 3
Central Division
W L Pct GB
St. Louis 26 22 .542 _
Chicago 25 22 .532 ½
Milwaukee 24 24 .500 2
Cincinnati 21 25 .457 4
Pittsburgh 18 29 .383 7½
West Division
W L Pct GB
San Diego 31 18 .633 _
Los Angeles 30 18 .625 ½
San Francisco 29 19 .604 1½
Colorado 19 30 .388 12
Arizona 18 31 .367 13
Tuesday’s games
Kansas City 2, Tampa Bay 1Cleveland 4, Detroit 1Toronto 6, N.Y. Yankees 2Atlanta 3, Boston 1Minnesota 7, Baltimore 4Chicago White Sox 8, St. Louis 3L.A. Dodgers 9, Houston 2L.A. Angels 11, Texas 5Seattle 4, Oakland 3Philadelphia 2, Miami 0Chicago Cubs 4, Pittsburgh 3Cincinnati 2, Washington 1N.Y. Mets 3, Colorado 1San Diego 7, Milwaukee 1San Francisco 8, Arizona 0
Wednesday’s games
Baltimore at MinnesotaSt. Louis at Chicago White SoxSeattle at OaklandTexas at L.A. AngelsToronto at N.Y. YankeesAtlanta at BostonCleveland at DetroitKansas City at Tampa BayL.A. Dodgers at HoustonChicago Cubs at PittsburghPhiladelphia at MiamiCincinnati at WashingtonColorado at N.Y. MetsSan Diego at MilwaukeeSan Francisco at Arizona
Thursday’s games
Cleveland (Bieber 4-3) at Detroit (Boyd2-5)
Kansas City (Singer 2-3) at Tampa Bay(McClanahan 1-0)
Toronto (Ray 2-1) at N.Y. Yankees (Mont-gomery 2-1)
Baltimore (Zimmermann 2-3) at ChicagoWhite Sox (Cease 2-1)
L.A. Angels (Ohtani 1-0) at Oakland (Bas-sitt 4-2)
Texas (TBD) at Seattle (Flexen 4-2)Colorado (Senzatela 1-4) at N.Y. Mets
(TBD)Philadelphia (Howard 0-1) at Miami (Ló-
pez 1-3)Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 4-4) at Pitts-
burgh (Anderson 3-4)San Diego (Weathers 2-1) at Milwaukee
(Houser 3-5)Cincinnati (Gray 0-3) at Washington
(Strasburg 1-1)St. Louis (Martínez 3-4) at Arizona (Fran-
koff 0-1)San Francisco (Wood 5-1) at L.A. Dodg-
ers (TBD)
MLB calendarJune 2-3 — Owners meeting, New York.July 11-13 — Amateur draft, Denver.July 13 — All-Star Game, Denver.July 25 — Hall of Fame induction, Coo-
perstown, N.Y.
Scoreboard
CHICAGO — Lucas Giolito beatJack Flaherty in a major leaguematchup of former high schoolteammates, leading the ChicagoWhite Sox to an 83 defeat of thesloppy St. Louis Cardinals.
The HarvardWestlake Highreunion also had a little history behind the plate, with Joe Westworking a record 5,376th regularseason game, snapping a tie withHall of Fame umpire Bill Klem.
Giolito (44) pitched six inningsof tworun ball in his secondstraight win, easily getting the better of a shaky Flaherty hurt by another poor defensive performanceby the Cardinals.
Flaherty (81), leading the majors in wins, lasted just 32⁄�3 inningsin his shortest outing of the season.
José Abreu homered and drovein four runs for the White Sox, whoearned their second straight winsince they were swept by the Yankees over the weekend. Liam Hendriks entered with the bases loaded in the ninth and struck out theside for his 10th save.
St. Louis committed a seasonhigh three errors in its fourth lossin five games.
Royals 2, Rays 1: Tampa Bay’s11game winning streak came toan end when Brad Keller pitchedseven strong innings and SalvadorPerez hit a tiebreaking RBI singleto give visiting Kansas City a victory.
Rich Hill struck out a careerhigh 13 for the Rays. Tampa Bay’swinning streak was the secondlongest in club history, one shy ofthe record set in 2004 by the thenDevil Rays managed by Lou Piniella.
Dodgers 9, Astros 2: ClaytonKershaw pitched into the eighthinning in his first game againstHouston since the 2017 World Series, and Justin Turner hit a tworun homer for visiting Los Angeles.
Kershaw (73) allowed a runand four hits in 72⁄�3 innings andChris Taylor drove in two runs asthe Dodgers got their eighthstraight victory.
Mets 3, Rockies 1: Jacob deGrom struck out nine in a successful return from the injured list andTomás Nido hit a tiebreakinghomer to send depleted New Yorkpast visiting Colorado.
Back from a bout with tightnesson his right side, deGrom gave uponly Ryan McMahon’s solo homerin five innings of threehit ball.The twotime Cy Young Awardwinner walked none and was removed after 63 pitches.
Blue Jays 6, Yankees 2: Steven
Matz returned to New York with
his finest outing in two years, Vla
dimir Guerrero Jr. hit his major
leagueleading 16th home run and
Toronto earned a road win.
Corey Kluber (43), making his
first start after pitching a nohitter
for New York, had his outing cut
short by shoulder tightness. The
team said the twotime Cy Young
Award winner will have an MRI.
Angels 11, Rangers 5: Shohei
Ohtani hit his 15th homer during a
sixrun burst, Andrew Heaney
(23) got his first win in eight
weeks and Los Angeles beat visit
ing Texas.
Ohtani scorched a cutter by
Brett de Geus down the rightfield
line for a threerun shot to give the
Angels a 91 lead in the fourth in
ning. The ball had a 117 mph exit
velocity off Ohtani’s bat — the har
desthit homer by an Angels play
er since MLB Statcast started in
2015.
Padres 7, Brewers 1: Joe Mus
grove and three relievers com
bined on a twohitter and visiting
San Diego got to Milwaukee ace
Corbin Burnes by matching a sea
son high with six stolen bases.
The Padres ran like crazy on a
night when Burnes (24) was un
characteristically wild and scored
four runs against the righthander
in six innings, spiking his ERA
from 1.79 to 2.33. Burnes, who
opened the season with a record
58 strikeouts before walking any
one, issued three free passes, hit a
batter and threw a wild pitch.
Cubs 4, Pirates 3: Chicago’s
Joc Pederson hit two home runs
and Jake Arrieta won at Pitts
burgh for the third time this sea
son.
Arrieta (54) went five innings
and gave up three runs — two
earned — on five hits with seven
strikeouts and one walk. Four
Cubs relievers combined for four
scoreless innings, with Craig Kim
brel working the ninth for his 10th
save. The bullpen has allowed on
ly one unearned run over its last
292⁄�3 innings.
Braves 3, Red Sox 1: Pablo
Sandoval had three hits in his first
game at Fenway Park since his di
sastrous tenure with Boston, and
Charlie Morton pitched out of
early trouble to lead Atlanta.
Sandoval, who was released in
2017 midway through the five
year, $95 million contract he
signed with the Red Sox, was
booed for every atbat. But he re
sponded with singles in his first
three plate appearances before he
grounded out meekly to third to
start the eighth.
Mariners 4, Athletics 3: J.P.
Crawford had three hits and Seat
tle center fielder Kyle Lewis made
a magnificent catch to save two
possible runs in a win at Oakland.
Paul Sewald (20) pitched two
innings of relief for the win. An
thony Misiewicz recorded two key
outs in the eighth before Rafael
Montero finished for his sixth save
after putting runners on the cor
ners.
Indians 4, Tigers 1: Aaron Civ
ale dominated Detroit again, tak
ing a shutout into the ninth inning
in Cleveland’s road victory.
Civale (71) improved to 60
with a 2.19 ERA in seven career
starts against the Tigers, includ
ing three wins this season. He al
lowed one run, six hits and a walk
in eightplus innings.
Reds 2, Nationals 1: Eugenio
Suarez homered off Washington
ace Max Scherzer (43) in his first
career start as a leadoff hitter, Tyl
er Mahle allowed three hits in 51⁄�3
scoreless innings and Cincinnati
won on the road.
Phillies 2, Marlins 0: Vince Ve
lasquez pitched threehit ball for
six innings, Rhys Hoskins home
red and Philadelphia won at Mia
mi.
Twins 7, Orioles 4: Rob Ref
snyder homered and doubled
twice, Jorge Polanco also home
red and host Minnesota gave Bal
timore its eighth straight loss.
Giants 8, Diamondbacks 0:
Evan Longoria had three hits, in
cluding a threerun homer, and
drove in four runs, Kevin Gaus
man struck out nine in five in
nings, and San Francisco won at
Arizona to break a threegame los
ing streak.
White Sox rout sloppy CardinalsGiolito outduels Flahertyin matchup of formerhigh school teammates
Associated Press
CHARLES REX ARBOGAST/AP
The Chicago White Sox’s Jose Abreu, center, umpire Joe West and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty watch Abreu’s tworun home run during an 83 win Tuesday by the White Sox in Chicago.
ROUNDUP
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, May 27, 2021
SPORTSLakers bounce back
Davis helps Los Angeles even serieswith Phoenix ›› NBA playoffs, Page 20
For all the talk about how much playoff ex-
perience goes into winning the Stanley
Cup and the guys with gray in their
beards who have been there before, roo-
kies are stealing the show early in this NHL postseason.
Three rookie goaltenders have won a game, the de-
fending Stanley Cup champions are getting major pro-
duction from a rookie forward and the likely rookie of
the year has found his groove after a rocky start.
From New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin,
Carolina’s Alex Nedeljkovic and Florida’s Spencer
Knight making saves to Tampa Bay’s Ross Colton and
Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov scoring goals, the first round
is proving to be something of a rookie
showcase.
“I think it’s a little bit in your mental
makeup,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper
said. “I’ve seen guys that are 28, 29 not be
able to make some plays that 20- and 21-
year-olds have been able to make, and it’s
just having that mental makeup of calm-
ing everything down.”
Sixteen of the 27 rookie skaters who have appeared in the
playoffs have at least one point, but the calm confidence is
coming from the rookie goaltenders who have been playing
like veterans.
Carolina Hurricanes goaltenderAlex Nedeljkovic blocks a shotby Nashville Predators center
Nick Cousins during Game 4 oftheir firstround playoff series.
MARK HUMPHREY/AP
Beginner’s puckBY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
Tampa Bay Lightning rookieleft wing Ross Colton
CHRIS O’MEARA/AP
Packers: Rodgers ordeal not a distraction ›› NFL, Page 22
Rookies impacting NHL playoffs
Kaprizov
SEE PUCK ON PAGE 21